Speaking of cold

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masterinbama

masterinbama

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Huntsville Alabama
Being from the south we just don't use baseboard heat. Could someone here tell me a good rule of thumb as far as wattage per foot goes? I added a small bathroom to my laundry room and would like to put some type of permanent heat in there.
 
I always used 8-10 watts per square foot depending on how well the house was insulated and how many windows there were. There are computer programs that will calculate heat loss, but 8-10 watts/sq. foot seems to work fairly well.
 
If its that small you might consider a wall unit verses BB. BB might act more like a dust collector, and the base might also be subject to rust then less cleaning around it...

You might also consider an IR lamp on a timer in the ceiling if there's a good ceiling height.
 
cadpoint said:
If its that small you might consider a wall unit verses BB. BB might act more like a dust collector, and the base might also be subject to rust then less cleaning around it...

You might also consider an IR lamp on a timer in the ceiling if there's a good ceiling height.
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I agree with Jude especially in a laundry room. Not matter how good you seal the dryer vent, and handling clothes there will be a lint build up. In your area you probably wouldn't need the heat but maybe 3 months a year. That gives the base board heater 9 months to collect it.
 
The watts per sq. foot works okay but alot depends on the heat loss of the home. A well insulated home does not need much and a home in Alabama doesn't need as much as one in Minnesota. In NC my general rule is 7 watts/ ft.sq but again high ceiling etc changes things. You really must deal with cubic feet. 7 watts is for a 8 or 9 foot ceiiing not cathedral types.
 
Cove radiant heat?

Cove radiant heat?

ptonsparky said:
I use the 10 watts per sq ft as well. I prefer the Cove radiant heaters. Not on the floor and I make a bit more off of them.
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Tom - I'm not sure what you mean by cove radiant heat. Would you give me an example of the heater you've had good luck with?

I have a 9'x12' bathroom with a 12' ceiling height that I need to add some supplemental heat in. Because of arrangement of doors, cabinets, tub, shower, etc. there's not enough clear wall for baseboard heaters. Even a wall heater would need to be 12" wide or less.

But an effective cove heater...maybe that might work?

Anyone have any other suggestions?
 
What mounting height?

What mounting height?

So those work pretty well? I haven't used radiant type heat before.

What mounting height do you recommend? With 12 ft ceilings, I could easily mount 1kw or 1.5kw on an interior wall at anywhere from about 7'-6" up to near the 12' ceiling height. If most of the heat is radiant, I would think mounting at around 8' would put most of the heat on your body, tub & counters & floor surfaces?

If most of the heat is convection, then you'd have to heat the entire volume of air, which would be much slower?
 
They work well. Highest I have put them was about 9' if I remeber correctly. Disadvantage of radiant is the relatively cold spot in the shadowed areas. Advantage is you do feel it just as you would sunshine. I wouldn't use it for instant heat, it takes a while to warm things up.
 
Do they still sell panty hose?

Do they still sell panty hose?

Up in the frozen north part of the flyover zone people just unhook their dryer vent in winter You tied a pair of old pany hose over the end of the duct. The warm air was welcome in the house and it helped the humidity.
You could use a cheap cloth bag and bun it and the lint in the fire place, :)
 
Heat Loss Calculator

Heat Loss Calculator

IF you look at the following web site they have a "Heat Loss Calculator" You can down load. I usually let a mechanical engineer do this stuff but I have had to do it myself a few times. The last place we did we used radiant ceiling heater and it worked.


http://www.king-electric.com/
 
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