Gas Baseboard heat vs. Gas Forced Air? Best answer on the web

Jan 08, 2009 @ 06:16 am by mike
  • Which is the more efficient way to heat a home, gas baseboard heat or gas forced air?

    My fiancee and I are considering buying a home with baseboard heat and no Central A/C. Originally we were thinking we would have to retrofit forced air into the home, but now I am reading a couple of sites that say baseboard heat is actually more efficient than forced air. Is this true? It'd save a lot of money to not have to retrofit that into the house.



    The home is an 1875sq. ft. colonial


  • If you have thermostats in each room then the baseboard heaters are electric and very inefficient. If there is a central thermostat then you have radiators fed by hot water piping connected to an oil or gas boiler. The question then is what it the efficiency of the boiler.



    Radiant heating is better than forced air because it heats the objects in the room not the air. So it doesn't dry the air like a forced air system.



    If you are considering adding central air down the road, you will have ducting. If you do have a boiler, you'll have a choice of keeping the boiler and radiators for heating only. And adding ducting, a condenser and fan coil for cooling only. Or adding ducting, a condenser, a fan coil and hot water coil (mounts in the ducting and connects to the boiler) for central forced air heating and cooling. But then you're left with non-functional radiators that you may want to remove.



    If adding air conditioning is not a concern, then your radiant heating is by far one of the best heating mediums around. Check the AFUE of the boiler. A new boilers will have an AFUE of 80% - 90+%.


  • I would go with the forced air. Baseboard heat might be more efficient if the central air is an older unit. But it is easier and cheaper to update the central air than retrofit an entire new unit. Also ask your realtor or appraiser in your area which adds more value to your home. Where I live it is harder to sell a home with baseboard heat as opposed to central air. So you might want to take that into consideration if you ever had to sell your home.


  • I have had both types and we long for our old baseboard heat mainly because of much less dust. Also, baseboard heat is much more consistant and quieter.


  • Simple, hydronic heat is more comfortable and even. Forced air is cheaper to run, but has those blasts of cold air on startup and shutoff. You'll need ductwork for central air for the hydronic system. But you can use the forced air ducts for the central air except the registers need to be at two levels. At floor level in winter, and ceiling in summer.