Baseboard heaters are inexpensive and they require very little maintenance. But if you have baseboard heating in your home and want to keep your energy bills low, you'll want to decrease the amount of time that your baseboard heaters are turned on. In order to do this and still keep warm during the colder months of the year, follow the four tips below.
1. Make Sure Air Can Circulate Freely in the Room
Baseboard heaters operate using convection, which allows them to circulate air throughout the room without needing a fan. The cold air near the floor will be warmed by the heater, causing it to rise. As the air cools and falls back to the floor, it will naturally be pulled towards the heater. Ensuring that air can flow freely in the room will help your baseboard heater continually circulate warm air throughout the whole living space, keeping the room comfortably warm.
In order to ensure adequate air circulation, avoid placing any furniture near your heater. In addition, you should turn on the ceiling fan in order to aid air circulation. Make sure the fan blades are spinning clockwise, as this will push the warmer air near the ceiling downwards where it can keep you comfortable.
2. Improve Your Home's Insulation
When you keep warm air inside your room by improving your home's insulation, your baseboard heaters won't have to run as often. Seal the windows next to the baseboard heater with weather stripping in order to prevent warm air from escaping. If you have rooms in your home that you aren't heating, make sure you keep the doors closed tightly. Finally, add more insulation to your attic in order to prevent heat from escaping through your ceiling.
3. Install Programmable Thermostats
Baseboard heating is a form of zoned heating that only heats certain rooms in your home. As a result, you can reduce your energy bill by only using your baseboard heating where it's necessary. If you only need your bedroom to be kept warm at night, for example, you can save money by turning down the thermostat on the other baseboard heaters in your home. One way to make this easy is to connect programmable thermostats to your home's baseboard heaters.
4. Upgrade to a Bigger Unit
Finally, you can often save money on your electric bills by upgrading your baseboard heaters. While it may seem counter-intuitive, larger baseboard heaters are able to move air around the room more quickly. They're hotter and the units are taller, which increases convection significantly. You'll avoid any cold spots developing in the room, which allows you to keep the whole room comfortably warm with a lower setting on the thermostat.
For more information about baseboard heating, reach out to a professional.
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