gtmtnbiker
New Member
I'm part of a committee that is trying to come up with the specifications for adding two bathrooms to my church. One of the design decisions is hot water baseboard heat versus electric baseboard heat.
Is one cheaper to install than the other or are they equivalent? I did some rough calculations on the heat cost and hot water baseboards will be the way to go. I estimated that it will be about $90 for HWB versus $240 for electric per heating season.
We're located in Massachusetts. We have gas boilers. In the newer part of the church, it's circulating hot water 24x7 in the main pipes with zone valves/thermostats (26 of them) supply heat as needed.
In the basement where the bathrooms will be going (there will be two 7'x6' bathrooms), we will have to relocate an existing heater (one of those that looks like a Modine and has a fan) to a different part of the basement. The existing heater is connected to the main hot water trunk that circles the building.
The plumber is already going to be working on the heating system (to move the existing heater) and it shouldn't be a big deal to also add two more baseboards with separate zone valves/thermostats.
The other option is to have an electrician add two fan-style wall heaters and the necessary thermostat and wiring.
I'm in favor of going with the FHW route but the other person on the committee thinks that the electric heat will be cheaper from an installation view point. I think the installation costs will be somewhat comparable but I don't really know. I know the operating costs are not the same.
Any advice for me? Thanks.
Is one cheaper to install than the other or are they equivalent? I did some rough calculations on the heat cost and hot water baseboards will be the way to go. I estimated that it will be about $90 for HWB versus $240 for electric per heating season.
We're located in Massachusetts. We have gas boilers. In the newer part of the church, it's circulating hot water 24x7 in the main pipes with zone valves/thermostats (26 of them) supply heat as needed.
In the basement where the bathrooms will be going (there will be two 7'x6' bathrooms), we will have to relocate an existing heater (one of those that looks like a Modine and has a fan) to a different part of the basement. The existing heater is connected to the main hot water trunk that circles the building.
The plumber is already going to be working on the heating system (to move the existing heater) and it shouldn't be a big deal to also add two more baseboards with separate zone valves/thermostats.
The other option is to have an electrician add two fan-style wall heaters and the necessary thermostat and wiring.
I'm in favor of going with the FHW route but the other person on the committee thinks that the electric heat will be cheaper from an installation view point. I think the installation costs will be somewhat comparable but I don't really know. I know the operating costs are not the same.
Any advice for me? Thanks.