Quick Question About Electric Baseboards And Moving Them

Mike Finley

Looking at a project where there is an existing baseboard heater running right up against the current shower. The project will call for expanding the shower so the heater will end up in the way.

Is the fix as simple as just replacing the existing baseboard with another smaller unit?

Tom R

Should be as simple as 'that', - - long as the electric comes in at that 'opposite' end, - - which I'm sure it does.

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Atricaudatus

Mike, it should be just that simple. Just keep in mind that the length of the heater is usually related to its wattage. So, a shorter heater will put out slightly less heat.

Another alternative would be to install a wall mount fan forced heater.

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-Rhett
Licensed electrician and plumber

Mike Finley

Thanks guys.

I was thinking about changing it out to one of those Cadet electric registers...



But that might be really opening a can of worms since I am guessing that the current base board heater turns on and off based on the whole house thermostat. It would be nice to convert this one to it's own programmable thermostat mounted only in the bathroom, but I don't see how that would work since the current electric baseboard heater would only be getting voltage when the rest of them are being turned on by the main house thermostat.

747

why not try talking them into a new tile floor. Then you could go with electric radiant floor heat underneath.

Mike Finley

Actually that is already part of the deal, but I wouldn't trust an electric under tile heat mat to be the sole heating source of the room. I consider them supplementary and mostly more of a comfort or convenience type of product.

Atricaudatus

Mike,
That would be a pretty unusual installation in my experience. Most of the baseboard heated homes I've encountered have a separate, line-voltage t-stat for each room, either on the the wall or on the heater itself; especially bathrooms. The ability to independantly control the temp in each room was one of the few advantages to using BB heat (sort of a "zoned" concept) since electric resistive heating is notoriously energy hungry.

Look for a line voltage dial type t stat on the wall or a knob on the end of the heater. If this unit really is controlled from a central whole house t stat, I would give serious consideration to separating it from the others and putting it on its own control.

I'm curious about this one.

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-Rhett
Licensed electrician and plumber

Atricaudatus

That Cadet looks like a good alternative, by the way.
What wattage is it? Is it fan forced?
What size is this bathroom?

__________________
-Rhett
Licensed electrician and plumber

CE1

Mike
If this is a bathroom remake and the cabintes are going to be replaced you might want to look at a Broan Trimline Kickspace heater. I have used them before and it makes for a nice looking remodel job.

http://www.kitchensource.com/bathroom-fans/br-112.htm

Mike Finley

Hey, if that is the case then that's even a better argument for dumping the base board heater in there and going with the Cadet since that would allow it to work off a programmable thermostat. That would free up the wall space and be an upgrade over the baseboard.

These units are available both in 110 and 240 and each unit is also variable on the wattage by what wires you connect, you can make it 500, 1000 or 1500 watts. Fan driven with a squirrel cage type fan. They fit right between 2 studs and you can do a remodel install by just cutting out the opening for the unit and slipping the box in, drive a couple of screws and you're about done. Not counting running the wire if you take more than 20 minutes installing it you're doing something wrong.


Including the additional programable thermo they cost about $225.00 for everything.

The bathroom is about 120 sq ft.

Never installed a kick toe heater yet, they look pretty cool too.

Atricaudatus

I really like the sound of that Cadet. The versatility and ease of installation make it pretty appealing, and it would easily handle a 120 sg ft bath. I'm going to have to look into those. Thanks Mike!

__________________
-Rhett
Licensed electrician and plumber