Greetings All!

You were so helpful during my installation of 200amp breaker box and I appreciate it.

Now with winter just around the corner I need to worry about heat. At this point I have no heat.

I was able to up pick up the following baseboard heaters

(4) 6-ft
(3) 4-ft
(2) 2-ft

There is absolutely no info on these heaters, no tag showing maker, voltage, etc. So based on info found hear and other sources I assume the following calculations:

250 watts per linear footage so the heater would be broken down as follows:

6ft- 1500 watts
4ft- 1000 watts
2ft- 500 watts

I have a double wide (24x40) broken down as follows:

Master Bedroom - 12x12
bedroom - 12x9
bedroom - 12x8
living room - 12x14
dining area - 12x8
kitchen - 12x16

Also from research I have concluded the following

if I use 10/2 - 30amp double pole breaker I will be able to use 24ft of heater per breaker
if I use 12/2 20amp double pole breaker I will be able to use 16ft of heater per breaker

So what how many heaters in each room and in what configuration would be the best

how many heaters can go on a thermostat. Once I get an idea of configuration this will tell me how breakers to buy and which amperage to buy.

I appreciate any and all help.

Really need to confirm depth of insulation, esp the walls. And what part of wherever you are located.

I am in North Central Oklahoma, USA (Mannford, Oklahoma to be exact) Walls are made with 2x4 if that helps any. Also I will be locating all the heaters on exterior walls.

A correction to my previous post on heaters I actually have the following

1-6ft
2-5ft
6-4ft

Here is how I was thinking of doing this.

The dining room and kitchen are open (no interior walls) and the living room and dining room are open (no interior walls separting them) so I was going to use the (2) 5-footer and the (1)6-footer in the livingroom/dining area on wall so heater face towards kitchen and down the hall (16 foot total on 1 20 amp breaker using 12/2)

Then in each room I was going to put (1)4-footer in each small bedroom and (2) 4-footer in master bedroom for a total of 16 foot on 1 20 amp breaker using 12/2

would this work?

If so my next question is can I use 1 stat for the living room set of heaters and then 1 stat for the bedroom set of heaters?

My only other option is to get 110 space heater for each bedroom and several for the living room but from what I understand 110 would cost more to run then using the 220 baseboard heaters.

attached is picture of what I think will work but I need your input (I do not show ground, but red and blue lines will be hot)

http://healingokhearts.org/home.jpg

Nice sketch.


For 2x4 walls, in a cold location such as your, I use 11 watts per sq foot, so I arrive at a total of 10560 watts of heat minimum needed for your home.

The total heaters you have is 9000 watts.

What about heat in the bathrooms?

Sure a feeder can feed two t'stats, that each control separate heaters.

Each of your rooms with the heat allocated seem fine, just no heat in the bathroom. I think you need to add a bit more heat someplace to get your 9K up to 10.5K of heat, or the heaters will be overworked to compensate for heat loss on very cold days.

Okay I have 2 more 4-footer I can use.

The image below shows me using the other 2 heaters (one in hall facing into bathroom and one in kitchen) there is no wall space in eithe rbathroom for a heater.

Now can I still use the set up shown below using 2-20amp breakers and 12/2 wire or do I need to add a third breaker? Or would it be more economical to use 2-30amp breakers and 10/2 wire.

So I guess if I have to add another breaker or up the amperage on breaker what would be the best way to go?

Now concerning thermostats. I will be going to lowe's or home depot for this, what exactly to ask for or look for. I do not want anything fancy I want what is the cheapest and still work and be safe. Do stats have wattage limits? I am really ignorant in this area. Would this thermostat work (doesnt say if its single or double) Honeywell CT62B Electric Heat Thermsotat - CT62B1015 at The Home Depot

http://healingokhearts.org/Heater%202CB.jpg

After much thought I decided to go with (3)20 amp breakers using 12/2 wire. I just ordered 300' of that.

Here is the layout I plan on using (I am showing just one line, knowing there is two hots and a ground).

I still need input on purchasing the thermostats. I will be purchasing 3 or can I get by with just 2? Anyway, what do I need to ask for at lowe's or home depot?

I appreicate y'alls help.

http://healingokhearts.org/Baseboard_wiring.jpg

You will need double post double throw thermostats designed for electric heat. Many electric heat thermostats don't have degree markings, so I would look for ones that tell you exactly how warm you've set it inside.

You will need at minimum one thermostat per heating circuit. You will also need to watch that the maximum number of watts each thermostat can handle is greater than the connected watts of the heaters.

Since a decent electric heat thermostat can usually be had for under $25 each and electric heat is generally expensive to run, I would put a separate thermostat in each room. For your home, I'd use 5 thermostats. One in each bedroom, one in the kitchen for the hallway and kitchen heaters, and one in the living room or dining room to control those heaters (since it's an open room, they can share a thermostat).

By putting a separate thermostat in each room, you can keep the living areas at 70 during the day and the bedrooms at 60 during the day if no one is using a bedroom. At night, you can reverse it, setting the living areas to 60 and the bedrooms to 70. You'd use roughly the same amount of electricity as keeping the house at 65, but you'd get additional heat where you need it at the time. You can also barely heat rooms that are currently unused, like a guest bedroom. If you keep all the heaters set to the same temperature, you will still get a more even temperature inside if you use more thermostats.

Sample electric heating thermostat:
Honeywell CT62B Electric Heat Thermsotat - CT62B1015 at The Home Depot

What a project!

It is now complete, I appreciate everyone's input.

I have baseboard heaters in all the rooms and went with using 4 thermostats. 1 to control the two small bedrooms, one to control master bedroom, one to control living room/dining room and one to control hall and kitchen.

Could not have done it without the help from y'all.

Thanks a lot

Update:

First few nights of weather below 20 degrees... base board heaters worked out well. Thanks again for all of your inputs.

What a great resource this site is for us DIY.

Great, so good to hear a project went well.

So, what do you think about electrical work?

Fun stuff, huh?

I am glad to see laypeople get to see how this work is not so easy, and all the details, and hopefully understand why electricians cost so much.

One other thing comes to mind, as with any heat, but especially with electric heat... be sure to use a humidifier to get some moisture into the air in the home. Electric heat is so dry, even when it is 80 degrees the air feels cold because the relative humidity is so low.

What an incredibly well thought out project. Very nicely done. My only thoughts about this is the heat for the bathrooms. It will be interesting to see if you don't have to go back and do something there. But I am impressed.

Martin, I can't begin to imagine the pain you and your family must feel. The loss of one's child must be the most horrible experience any of us could ever endure. My thoughts and prayers are with you. I only hope you can find a way to enjoy this holiday season. May God be with you.

Yes, a lot of work and I do see why they charge what they do... you go beyond wiring and need to know some construction, unless you are fortunate enough to wire up everything before interior is completed on new constructions. But I am sure this is not the case most of the time.