Baseboard/Hot Water Heating (house, allergens, living)

[ME-Evergreen]

Does anyone know if this heating method is efficient or not? It seems to be the most popular method of heating for the older homes. Any advice is much appreciated.

Also is mold a problem in the older homes? The older homes I am referring to were built in the 1700s and 1800s.

Thanks in advance!

[Trailmonkey]

Hot water baseboard is efficient, but I think the primary reason it is used in older homes is that the supply lines are easily fished through walls, and into tight areas. That being said, I would rather have baseboard than hot air. Efficiency also means keeping the heat in, so make sure that the home is properly insulated.

Mold is no more or less a problem on old homes in general. However, they typically have dirt floors and stone (or brick) foundations, and as the insulation envelope is upgraded, moisture coming into the basement can become more of a problem. Mold needs three things: moisture, food (wood or paper typically), and air to survive. A good solution might be to put down a heavy moisture barrier on the floor, and the walls if necessary, and either put concrete over it, or just ballast it with pea gravel. Don't ignore a sump pit if a river runs through the basement. Best to get liquids as far away from the house as possible. Upgrading of drainage outdoors will help as well. This is usually the least expensive way to turn a muggy, damp basement into a fairly dry area.

The dynamics of older homes can be tricky. Every time one component is changed, it can have fairly drastic effects on other areas of the home. Plan upgrades accordingly, and you will have a home that will last for another century.

[peachie_in_maine]

Originally Posted by ME-Evergreen

Does anyone know if this heating method is efficient or not? It seems to be the most popular method of heating for the older homes. Any advice is much appreciated.

Also is mold a problem in the older homes? The older homes I am referring to were built in the 1700s and 1800s.

Thanks in advance!

My parents northern log home was built in 1989 and they put this system in. I would love it. It keeps there home warm .. steady warm and the cost is reasonable as well. I wish i had it, but I have an affordable monitor heater that keeps us good, and affordable at the same time.

Tami~peachie

[BacktoNE]

Living here in WI, this is the first time I've ever had to deal with hot air heat and I don't like it. Wish we could have natural gas combined with baseboard heat, that would be great.

Baseboard hot water heat is efficient, clean and quiet. No ductwork to have cleaned, which eliminates a lot of allergens.

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by BacktoNE

Living here in WI, this is the first time I've ever had to deal with hot air heat and I don't like it. Wish we could have natural gas combined with baseboard heat, that would be great.

Baseboard hot water heat is efficient, clean and quiet. No ductwork to have cleaned, which eliminates a lot of allergens.

There is Natural Gas boilers available so you can have NG and baseboard heat. Kind of nice units, and the cost/efficiency difference really makes it a nice option.

[msina]

I love the old cast iron steam radiators. We have baseboard heat and it works well but I sure miss those old radiators.

[RANGER.101ST]

our home was built in the 1840's it had a wood furnace combind with a hot air
oil furnace.this place was like heating a barn.12 cord of wood and 700 gal of oil the first winter.that fallowing spring we put in a mobel home and went to work.we gutted the house comepleatly .(would have been cheaper to tear it down) .we put in a hot water boiler and base bord i love it

[ME-Evergreen]

Thanks for each post! We are interested in a few very old homes (built in 1700-1800) and they all have this style of heating wihich is foreign to us. These comments are most helpful!

[corgis]

It does take some getting used to after living with forced air gas. On the other hand, we find that hot water baseboard heat is more evenly spread through the house, it's quieter and I'm beginning to like it very much. But it does take time to get used to a different kind of heating system.

[shadowfax1997]

Originally Posted by ME-Evergreen

Does anyone know if this heating method is efficient or not? It seems to be the most popular method of heating for the older homes. Any advice is much appreciated.

Also is mold a problem in the older homes? The older homes I am referring to were built in the 1700s and 1800s.

Thanks in advance!

we have forced hot water from an oil furnace. I like it very much. It has advantages and disadvantages over forced hot air.

Likes - quiet, doesn't dry the air out, little air movement, no air filters to replace

Dislikes - baseboard register along outside walls, limits locations of furniture, pipes can freeze if power goes out

Forced hot air allows vents to be placed basically any location, but you feel the air moving more and the humidity can be too low.