Hot water heat in ceiling? (floor, heaters, cleaner, appliance)

[lancek56]

I have purchased a all brick ranch home in NW Indiana 3 yrs ago. It has a boiler in the basement and the heat is in the ceiling. Has anyone heard of that?
My heating bill is twice of my sister in law how has a tri-level with three teenage girls ( More showers & Laundry ) with forced air heat.
I am thinking I need to install baseboard heaters and not run the hot water through the ceiling.
Any thoughts on which would be better, Baseboard radiant heat or install
forced air.
I was told the boiler should be way more efficient than forced air, And cleaner of course.
Thanks in Advance for any input.

[GloryB]

I found this online. Apparently this system only works efficiently if it is properly installed and maintained. Maybe you have a blockage somewhere in your duct system.
This is a cut and paste post.....

Combustion air ducts.
Combustion air
ducts shall comply with all of the following:
1. Ducts shall be constructed of galvanized steel complying
with Chapter 16 or of a material having equivalent corrosion
resistance, strength and rigidity.
Within dwellings units, unobstructed
stud and joist spaces shall not be prohibited from conveying
combustion air, provided that not more than
one required fireblock is removed.
2. Ducts shall terminate in an unobstructed space allowing
free movement of combustion air to the appliances.
3. Ducts shall serve a single enclosure.
4. Ducts shall not serve both upper and lower combustion
air openings where both such openings are used. The
separation between ducts serving upper and lower combustion
air openings shall be maintained to the source of
combustion air.
5. Ducts shall not be screened where terminating in an attic
space.
6. Horizontal upper combustion air ducts shall not slope
downward toward the source of combustion air.
7. The remaining space surrounding a chimney liner, gas
vent, special gas vent or plastic piping installed within a
masonry, metal or factory-built chimney shall not be
used to supply combustion air.

[Bill Keegan]

Originally Posted by GloryB

I found this online. Apparently this system only works efficiently if it is properly installed and maintained. Maybe you have a blockage somewhere in your duct system.
This is a cut and paste post.....

Glory, this info, while nice, is not relevant to his question, as it deals with ducts, and the transport of COMBUSTION AIR, which is used to burn the fuel.

I have seen heating systems that work this way. Not many, and not in any house built in the last 30 years. It's a rather inefficient way to heat a house, becasue it's trying to work againt nature. Hot water runs through pipes in the ceiling. That warms the air right near the ceiling. But hot air wants to RISE, so you have to either force the air down into the living space, or really overheat the upper air so the lower air gets comfortable.
Have you tried installing ceiling fans to push the warmed air downward? Long run, putting the heat at floor level & allowing it to rise naturally is going to be more efficient, but ceiling fans might be a good, low cost temporary fix.
I think most people would agree that the new hot water heating systems are more efficient, and probably healthier too, as they don't dry out the air the way forced air systems do. (I know people who refer to them as SCORCHED AIR heating systems.) Forced air is used frequently because it is easier to install, and doesn't come with a risk of water damage if a heating pipe breaks. Leaking air can't hurt much, whereas leaking water can be a killer to your house.

[Coldjensens]

I have seen this in some older houses, and in old architecture books. Usually however the piping is in the walls and cieling. Generally it makes a lot more sense to have it in the floor. It works great if it is in the floor.


We have radiated heat. We used the old fashioned cast iron radiators. They are far more efficient than the new copper baseboard radiators although they are more obtrusive. We just work with them. It is a great place to lay your hat or gloves. Kids and cats love to sit on them. In the summer they can serve as an extra table to hold clutter. etc.

Radiated heat is more healthy and usually more efficient. However comparing houses never works. It depends on your insulation, sealing, boiler efficiency, fuel type, personal habits and many other issues. You simply cannot compare one house to another to determine which heating system is more efficient unless the houses and families are the same.