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View Full Version : Oversizing baseboard heat?


KingsX
Sep 20, 2010, 12:00 PM
I have always read that when you have gas or the like furnace, over-sizing can kill your efficiency because of the short cycles. This makes the furnace not get up to peak efficiency. With electric, does this still apply? Because electric heat is 100% efficient, in my mind, an over-sized baseboard for a given room won't effect the cost of heating. I imagine that the elements might take a few seconds to get up to peak heat, but after that it would just cycle on and off as heat is required, correct? The reason I ask is, everywhere I've read says that for baseboard heat, multiply the room dimensions by 10. So I did a heat loss calculation on my living room for example. It is aprox. 230 square feet. So a baseboard that is 2300 watts would be correct using the 10 times model. But I did a heat loss calculation for that room. Took into consideration the temp difference from outside in winter, the size and type of windows, the R value of insulation in the walls and ceiling, and whether there was a heated space below. And because it's a new house (brand new with tight design) it calls for a baseboard of about 1500 watts. But I wouldn't want to undersize the heat, that's for sure. Maybe 1500 watts is okay, but its not a stretch cost wise to go to say 2000 watt, or 2500 watt even (other than the larger physical size). But if I did go that large, just to be safe, would that be a bad idea, by making it less efficient? I hope I'm making sense... thanks.