Get into the “Zone” for Home Heating

There is more to home heating than determining which fuel source to use. Among the primary issues to consider when selecting residential heating products are 1) energy efficiency, 2) comfort, and 3) ease of installation.

Zone heating (also known as room-by-room heating), using products from Hydro-Sil, can satisfy them all.

Save on Energy

Zone heating systems, which include electric and electric hydronic baseboard and wall heaters, allow for heating each zone or room of a home to the desired temperature. Electric hydronic zone heaters directly convert electric current into heat more efficiently than electric furnaces because room temperatures are set according to occupancy.

Residents can save energy by not heating unoccupied areas. Since zone heaters do not require ductwork, they do not lose heat before it reaches the room.

Learn how heating with electricity can also benefit the environment.

Provide Comfort

Zone heating allows for personalized temperature control whether they are used as the sole source of heat in a room or for supplemental heat. Individuals can adjust the temperature in each particular room to their own preference.

Zone heating can also be used to boost the temperatures of rooms used by individuals who are sensitive to cold, especially elderly persons, without overheating the entire home.

Save on Installation

Zone heating systems do not use insulated ducts, so installation labor time is reduced.

Zone Heating Options

Here are three kinds of zone heating products to consider:

• Baseboard heaters – Electricity heats long baseboard elements along the exterior walls of individual rooms. This heating is most efficient when controlled by an accurate, automatic setback type of thermostat. If baseboard heat in each room is controlled by a room thermostat (zonal heating), unused rooms can be kept cooler, saving energy.
• Wall heaters – Electricity heats elements in wall heaters that are installed in individual rooms. Often the heaters have fans to move heated air through the room. If the wall heater in each room is controlled by a room thermostat (zonal heating), unused rooms can be kept cooler, saving energy.
• Portable room heaters – These include panel and liquid-filled unit heaters. To ensure safety, make sure a portable heater has a tip-over switch, protective grill, and sealed heating elements.

Learn More

To learn more about using electric and hydronic electric heating solutions from Hydro-Sil Home Comfort Products, visit our website:

Hydrosil.com

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Go Electric – Save the Environment

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Heating with electricity, including electric and electric hydronic baseboard heaters, offers important benefits for the environment.

Electricity is among the only forms of energy that can use clean, renewable resources for power generation.

Renewable sources of electricity generation, such as solar energy, hydro-power, and wind power, are readily available, produce little waste, and minimize pollution to the air or water.

As renewable energy sources are increasingly used for electricity generation, electrically heated homes will play a bigger role in helping to conserve energy, which in turn, benefits the environment.

Many utilities now offer “green pricing options,” which allow customers to support a greater level of utility company investment in renewable energy technologies. Participating customers pay a premium on their electric bills to cover the incremental cost of the additional renewable energy.

Visit the Green Power Network to view green pricing utility programs by state.

Visit Hydro-Sil for electric home heating solutions.

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The Lowdown on Baseboard Heaters

Baseboard heaters make ideal room heating solutions. They require very little space and are usually inconspicuous. They are quiet, safe, and energy efficient. They are also easy to install.

Most electric baseboard heaters range from 500 watts to 2000 watts in power. That translates to about 50-200 square feet of space that can be heated. They can be used for whole house heating on a room-by-room basis or for supplemental heating in spaces such as bedrooms, offices, and hallways.

How They Work

Electric baseboard heaters are basically zone heaters. They are typically installed underneath windows where the heater’s rising air counteracts falling cool air from the window’s glass, and are controlled by thermostats within the room where they are located.

These heaters use heating elements encased in metal sheaths that are surrounded by aluminum fins to facilitate the transfer of heat. They employ a process known as convection, in which cooler air in the room is drawn into the bottom of the heater. Air within the heater is warmed, and then rises into a room. Some heat also radiates from the heater’s element and housing.

There are essentially two types of baseboard heaters:

• Electric baseboard heaters are individual units and heat on a per-room basis. They function better than other space heating systems because they make use of the principles of radiation and airflow. They can be more efficient than a central heating system by controlling rooms that are not frequently used at a much lower temperature than occupied space. For example, baseboard heaters allow one bedroom to be set at 68º while another bedroom can be set at 72º, saving energy and raising the comfort level in the space. A central heating system cannot do this.
• Electric hydronic heaters contain a metal-sheathed heating element that is immersed in a heat-transfer liquid and sealed in a heater-length copper tube that has aluminum fins bonded to it for maximum heat transfer. The large diameter reservoir maximizes the volume of heat storage fluid to prolong the thermal effect after the thermostat is satisfied. All available heat is delivered into the space via convection flow. Gentle heat keeps radiating even after the thermostat turns off because of the electric hydronic elements rentention quantities.

Efficient, Quiet, and Safe Operation

Baseboard heaters use convection to draw up the cold air near the floor, warming it up and releasing it back into the room where it rises. As the air cools, it sinks and is taken back into the baseboard heater to be warmed again. This convection-powered cycle will continue until the room is at the desired temperature, and the baseboard heater will then automatically shut off, therefore conserving energy.

Since electric baseboard heaters heat the room through convection, usually without the help of a fan, this keeps them quiet.

High quality electric hydronic baseboard heaters are also available that offer clean, quiet operation, without the noise of a traditional hot water piping system and the noisy blower and dirt of forced-air systems.

Models include safety thermal cutout protection switches that will turn off the heater in case of overheating. Auto safety features then reactivate the heater when the temperature returns to normal.

Ease of Installation

Baseboard heaters do not require ductwork, and are easy to install. Maintenance is typically easy too. The heating element inside the heaters does not have any moving parts, so there is less chance of something breaking down. Upkeep usually only requires minor cleaning consisting of removing the dust and lint from the grill of the heater. To prevent warm air from gathering behind the unit and streaking the wall with dust, make sure that the heater fits tightly to the wall.

Learn More

For more information, contact a Hydro-Sil representative at 1-800-627-9276. Or visit HydroSil.com to learn about specific products.

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