The problem with electric furnaces and baseboard heating

Millions of Americans use electric resistance heating — most commonly baseboard heating and electric furnaces — to heat their homes. These systems may be cheap and easy to install, but they’re incredibly expensive to operate and fail to provide the year-round efficiency and comfort of heat pumps. This article explains why.

What is electric resistance heating?

Electric resistance uses electricity and coils to generate warm air. Baseboard heating and electric furnaces are the two most common types of electric resistance heating systems.

Baseboard heating systems are a type of zone heating that allow you to control the temperature in individual rooms. The baseboard unit, which runs along the bottom of the wall, uses a metal heating element to generate and slowly release heat into the room where it's placed and it slowly rises from the floor to the ceiling to warm the room.

Electric furnaces work like massive hair dryers. Colder indoor air is pulled into a heat exchanger where it is heated over electric heating elements. A blower fan then blows the warm air through ductwork to heat your house. You control this process using your thermostat.

If the indoor temperature is below the set temperature, the air heating and blowing turns on. When the indoor temperature reaches the set temperature, the electric furnace turns off.

What are the benefits of electric furnaces and baseboard heating?

Compared to gas or oil based systems, electric furnaces or baseboard heating use electricity, eliminating the possibility of carbon monoxide leaks and the need for venting.

What are the downsides of electric furnaces and baseboard heating?

Dangerous and uncomfortable

Electric baseboards get hot, which means you have to keep furniture and curtains at least six inches away from them to prevent fire. If you have young children in the house, they can also be a burn risk. The heat generated by baseboard heaters is a very dry heat. People who use them often get dry skin, dry throats, dry eyes, and bloody noses.

You can use a humidifier to add moisture to the air, but this requires more electricity and regular cleaning.

Inefficient and expensive

Electric furnaces and baseboard heaters are more efficient than radiators and gas heating, but both are much less efficient than heat pumps. The placement of baseboard heaters — near windows and exterior walls — makes them even more inefficient. Each unit has a thermostat on the unit that controls how much it works to heat up the room. If the thermostat senses cold nearby, such as drafts from old windows, the system works harder to keep the room warm. This constant battling of cold drafts increases utility bills, especially during the coldest months of winter.

Heat pumps, which use electricity to transfer heat from outside the home into it, rather than heating up like a toaster oven, are 3 times more efficient than electric furnaces and baseboard heating systems.

That inefficiency means electric heating uses more electricity, which translates to higher utility bills.

Single purpose

Electric furnaces and baseboard systems can only do one thing - heat.

What are the benefits of upgrading to a heat pump?

Two-one-comfort

Electric heat pumps are home appliances that can both heat and cool a home. They can replace both a traditional air conditioner and a home heating system like a furnace, boiler, or inefficient baseboard heating!

Heat pumps are about 3 times more efficient than traditional heating systems. And because they don’t use fossil fuels, electric heat pumps are also the most environmentally friendly heating and cooling option out there.

Energy efficient and economical

Heat pumps are three times more efficient than electric resistance and gas heating. On average, American households which currently heat with electric furnaces or baseboards can save $739 per year on heating and cooling costs by making the switch to heat pumps.

Considering this energy bill savings, upgrading to a heat pumps in some households often pay for themselves within a few years.

Healthier and more comfortable

A heat pump pulls in air from outside for heating, which retains moisture and provides a dehumidifying effect. And unlike baseboard heating systems, heat pumps pose no fire risk or danger to children.

Ductless mini-split heat pumps allow you to heat and cool different rooms or “zones” in your home individually, providing custom comfort.

Want to learn more about heat pumps and see if you qualify for federal, state, or local incentives to make the switch more affordable than ever? Check this out.