Hydronic Electric baseboard heaters vs. standard?
Question by kolanksyy: Hydronic Electric baseboard heaters vs. standard?
I have 20+ yr old standard electric baseboard heaters in my summer home which are pointy, ugly and starting to rust. The house is infrequently used in the winter and we keep the thermostat at 45 to prevent the pipes bursting. I thought I could just replace the outside covers but guess the whole unit needs replacing. I’ve run across standard units for less than but also found “hydronic” ones that are over 0. Why are they so expensive, what’s the difference b/w these and standard units and is the technology really worth the extra cost? If we buy the hydronic units, how easy is it to swap out the old ones? Do we need an HVAC guy? Will the thermostat for the old units still work withthe new ones?
Best answer:
Answer by Bill
I have the same set-up. The hydronic units are cheaper to run because they heat a fluid and the fluid slowly releases the heat. You can swap them out, as long as the themostat is rated for the same voltage. (availible in 110v or 220v). And yes anybody that can wire a light and use a screwdriver should be able to swap them out. (make sure power is off!!)
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The Hydronic units may be marginally more efficient.
As long as you match the nameplate capacities and voltages of the units, you should have no problem.
If you have a central thermostat instead individual
ones on the units, you may have to co-ordinate the
voltage and switching protocol with the new units.
(Not as hard as it sounds.)
The wiring may be a bit different, as 240V. units are
now required to switch both wires, where old units
sometimes switched only one. (This also is easy to accommodate.).