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QUESTION:I am renovating an old country house in Gasp (Canada) which gets quite cold
in the winter. I do not want gas or oil heat so most decide between an
electric furnace or electic baseboard heaters. The cost of electricity in
Quebec is the lowest in the country. Some people are telling me that the
baseboards are the best but my experience with baseboard heaters is that the
heat goes about two feet in front of the baseboard and stays there so the
rest of the room remains cold unless you turn the thermostat to maximum,
plus there is no air circulation.
Can anyone tell me that it is more expensive to heat with an electric
furnace.
ANSWER: If the furnace and ductwork is contained 100% inside the heated space
then there will be no losses from the ductwork and the energy used to
drive the motor will contribute to heating the space. So the only
negatives, energy wise, of the forced air system would be (1) increased
air infiltration losses due to the slight air pressure differences
produced by the moving air, and (2) increased conductive losses due to
having more even temperature distribution on the outer walls.
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