Electric baseboard - replacement options

14 years ago

We are working on planning a kitchen renovation. The current kitchen has a seven foot set of casement windows set at a sill height of approx 32" off the floor. Below this window is the only heat source in the kitchen - a 48" electric baseboard. The house is open floorplan - main floor is 750 sq feet. Other heat sources are an electric baseboard in the adjacent living/dining area and a noisy toekick heater in the bathroom - we also have a small Efel oil stove in the living room which we use when the exterior temps get below 25F). The kitchen, living/dining and bathroom comprise the first floor.

We would like to replace the old casement windows and reset the sill height so that we can install cabinets under the window. Doing this means that we need to do something with the heat source - anybody have a creative way of dealing with this? (we live in Alaska, we NEED heat!) Our ancient toekick heater in the bathroom is so noisy we rarely turn it's thermostat on - just relying on the heat from the open area. Are the newer toekick heaters quiet? I haven't yet investigated this with any local HVAC contractors yet, but that's probably on the agenda soon. Thanks!

Dave

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Comments (2)

User
14 years ago
It doesn't sound as though the home has central heating at all? Just individually controlled electric heaters? If so, then it may be time to change the HVAC for the home entirely and install forced air with either gas, electric, or oil heating. Radiant hydronic would be more comfortable, but it would also be more expensive and difficult to retrofit. However, if you are thinking about changing any of the flooring surfaces out in the kitchens or baths, consider putting in radiant electric mats in those areas. It will make you more comfortable. It isn't whole room heating though, so you would still need the central heat.
dseng
Original Author
14 years ago
No central heating. Three zones for electric basaeboard plus two individual oil heat sources - a Toyo direct vent heater in the basement and the Efel auxilary on the first floor. Welcome to Alaska - things can be very different here than what is considered the "norm" down South. ;-) The house was built in 1986 - timber frame, exposed posts and beams, open concept. Running forced air would require a bunch of chases and soffits and would detract considerably from the character of the house. Hot water heat is the only real central heating option and would have to be retrofitted to in-floor or baseboard (which would leave us with the same problem in the kitchen) . Big bucks and very little ROI. Thus my search for a substitute for the electric baseboard we would like to replace AND work well with the cabinet scenario in my original post. Anyone happily running a toekick heater that is quiet?
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