Electric heat installation & repairs:

This article describes the types of residential electric heating systems and their inspection, diagnosis & repair.

We describe each type of electric heat used in buildings and provide links to further and more detailed electric heat diagnosis & repair articles for each heater type.

Discussed here: Electric baseboard heater UL Standards, safety features, thermal cutoffs. What are the Different Types of Electric Heat in Homes? Electric heating boilers, Electric Furnaces, Electric convector heaters, Electric floor-mounted heaters, Electric toe-kick heaters, Electric wall mounted heaters, Electric radiant heat panels, Electric plenum heaters, Night storage heaters, Wesix™ type Wall & Floor Mounted Electric Heaters.

This article series answers most questions about all types of heating systems and gives important inspection, safety, and repair advice. Sketch at page top courtesy of Carson Dunlop Associates, a Toronto home inspection, education & report writing tool company [ carsondunlop.com ].

Electric Heating System Inspection Methods, Diagnosis, Safety, Repairs

Electric heat is about the easiest heating method to install, the least costly type of heating equipment to purchase, and in many locales, the most costly way to heat a conventional home.

Super-insulating a building, and paying special attention to drafts and air leaks can change that picture however, as can special electrical rates available from utility companies in some areas.

[Click to enlarge any image]

This article describes different types of electric heat in buildings and give some inspection and no-heat diagnosis tips for each.

Article Contents

• WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF ELECTRIC HEAT IN HOMES?
  • ELECTRIC HEATING BOILERS
  • ELECTRIC FURNACES
  • ELECTRIC CONVECTOR HEATERS
  • ELECTRIC FLOOR-MOUNTED HEATERS
  • ELECTRIC TOE-KICK HEATERS
  • ELECTRIC WALL MOUNTED HEATERS
  • ELECTRIC RADIANT HEAT PANELS
  • ELECTRIC PLENUM HEATERS
  • NIGHT STORAGE HEATERS & HEAT SINK RADIATORS - separate article
  • PORTABLE ELECTRIC HEATER FAILURES - separate article
  • WESIX™ TYPE WALL & FLOOR MOUNTED ELECTRIC HEATERS

Our photograph (above left) shows a Fahrenheat brand electric wall heater observed in a remodeled bathroom in a Poughkeepsie NY home and sold by Marley Engineered Products.

If you don't know what kind of heat your building uses, we explain how to figure out the answer at HEATING SYSTEM TYPES.

What are the Different Types of Electric Heat in Homes?

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• Electric baseboard heat (see our photo above left, and the page top sketch) is installed on (usually exterior) walls in occupied rooms. The number of linear feet of electric heating baseboard (and some other parameters) determine how many watts of electric heat is provided.

• Electric heating boilers 
  
  are commonly used as a backup heat source for heat pump systems or for small radiant floor heating systems (such as our Minnesota fiasco radiant floor heat project detailed
  
  at RADIANT HEAT MISTAKES).
  
  Carson Dunlop Associates Associates' sketch (left) illustrates an electric heating boiler used for residential heating systems.
• Electric furnaces 
  
  can provide warm air heat; this Carson Dunlop sketch shows how we figure the equivalent heat between an electric furnace (in watts) and a gas or oil fired heating furnace (in BTUs).
• Electric convectors 
  
  with fans such as the ceiling mounted garage heater shown at above right are used most often for irregular use in larger cold spaces such as a garage or workshop.
  
  But also see wall-mounted electric heaters, below. Similar units that use hot water or hydronic systems - hot water heated fan convector heating units - are discussed
  
  at FAN CONVECTOR HEATERS - HYDRONIC COILS.
• Electric floor-mounted heaters:
  
  as this Carson Dunlop sketch shows, an individual electric heater can be mounted right into the floor surface (instead of along a wall). Watch out for kids dropping crayons or things that can catch fire into the grates of heating equipment like this.
  
  As the drawing points out, flush-floor mounted electric heaters are used where heat is needed in front of a sliding door (and where no wall is available to mount a heating baseboard.)
• Electric toe-kick heaters
  
   (kick-space heaters) are mounted in bathrooms and kitchens as this Carson Dunlop sketch shows. We use a kick space heater (which are also available for hot water heating and warm air heating systems) where a room lacks wall area to mount a conventional heat source.

• Wall-mounted electric heaters
  
   (usually recessed or flush mounted such as the Cadet™ electric heater at left; also see Carson Dunlop's sketch) are often used in hallways, entrance foyers, and other locations where spot heat is needed.
  
  See CADET HEATER MANUALS & CADER / ENCORE HEATER RECALL [web article] for a safety recall on this heater type.
• Electric radiant heat panels 
  
  have been installed in homes for over 50 years. Here's a sketch [image] of a typical radiant heat ceiling layout.
  
  Electric radiant heat in ceilings was produced as both wires imbedded in gypsum board (drywall) and as wire panels taped to the upper surface of the ceiling drywall.
  
  Electric radiant heating panels are also available that fit perfectly into a suspended ceiling grid.
• Electric plenum heaters 
  
  are used as supplemental heat on combination fuel warm air systems such as wood fired furnaces https://inspectapedia.comand possibly on warm air systems heated by a HEAT PUMP [web article].
• NIGHT STORAGE HEATERS & HEAT SINK RADIATORS (separate article) are used as auxiliary heat source and to balance heat in climates where central heating is not usually installed or where supplementary electric heat is required.
• PORTABLE ELECTRIC HEATER FAILURES - intended for temporary use as supplemental heat, some of these may present a risk of fire

• Wesix™ type Wall & Floor Mounted Electric Heaters: general information
...
• We do not have research data on this nor other specific brands of small point-of-use electric heaters (see US CPSC, Consumer Reports, and similar sources). We have read sporadic field reports of Wesix heaters. These electric heaters were made by the Wesix Electric Heater Company [WEH], a California company, chartered originally in 1938 and again in 1942, and headed by Thomas J. Mellon.
  
  Wesix™ electric heaters were often installed in bathrooms, in floors as a small fan convector unit, and as electric baseboards, including both 120V and 240V models that included a brass data tag on the bottom of some units. The company also made the Wesix Mark IV ion collector used in researching the effect of ions on microorganisms and other biological materials.
• Wesix heater product identification & electrical data:
  • Wesix DHF-30T In-Wall Fan Forced Electric Heater 3000 W
  • Wesix DHF-20 In-Wall Fan Forced Electric Heater 2000 W
  • Wesix IN-FLOOR FAN HEATERS [image]
  • Wesix 220 VAC 6.8 A, 1500 watts
  • Wesix 120 AC, 15CHM-1-G-29-01
• Possible Wesix electric heater (and similar product) concerns to be noted by owners or home inspectors:
  • overheating covers
  • age and reliability, including loose or corroded connections leading to loss of heat (easily repaired) and burned-out heater element (replace the unit) - neither of these defects are peculiar to this brand nor to a particular model (as reported
  • Inoperative thermostat or controls

Electric Baseboard Heat Inspection - home inspector reports abnormally hot electric baseboards

4/14/14 Bill O'Callaghan said:

While doing a home inspection, I viewed the electric baseboard heaters with a thermal camera. Internal, core temps began around 160* which seems the norm, but when I went into the bathrooms, the shorter registers emitted 225* and were only on for a short period.

I recommended further evaluation, then spent a bunch of time researching the web for a safety document concerning this. I believe the units have been designed with thermal shut-offs since 1983 and should be Listed and labeled since 1995?

What about "Commercial" IE Condo's or apartments? Thanks, Bill O

Reply: Diagnosing an electric baseboard heater that's too hot or won't shut off

Hi Bill, that's an interesting observation giving us some data on IR scans of electric baseboards. I understand that some electric baseboards (such as some Cadet models) indeed have a built-in upper limit switch. But note this quote from the heater's installation notes

More important, you may have saved someone from having a house fire.

One Cadet document I reviewed emphasized that all Cadet baseboard heaters require a thermostat though in a Cadet installation manual from another source I read that wall thermostats are optional.

Presumably they meant that if you're not using a wall thermostat you must use a thermostat installed in the baseboard at one of its ends. The company gives these diagnostics for electric baseboards that don't shut off (paraphrasing)

1. Heat loss from the room is greater than the baseboard's output
2. The baseboard thermostat is defective
3. The thermostat is not wired correctly
4. Room temperature is below thermostat set temperature.

They don't mention a failure of an internal temperature limit as a defect, but that concern does show up in the standard as I will quote.

Standards for Fixed-in-Place Electric Heaters: requirement for a thermal cutoff

Bill UL 1042 20.1 confirms your observation:

The applicable standard for baseboard electric heaters, UL 1042 (1995) is a voluntary one. Thermal cutoffs are discussed on p 31 and 32 of that lengthy document:

UL 1042 20.1 "A Thermal cutoff shall be secured in place and located so that it will be accessible for replacement without damaging other connections or internal wiring."

UL 1042 20.2 A thermal cutoff shall open the circuit in the intended manner without causing the short-circuiting of live parts and without causing live parts to become grounded to the enclosure when the heater is connected to a circuit having a voltage in accordance with 33.1.21 and operated in a normal position to cause abnormal heating.

A second standard applies to certain other electric heaters: UL 2021 (1997). The US CPSC reported on the hazards of "Fixed Position Electric Heaters" in 2002. - www.cpsc.gov//PageFiles/117191/fpheater.pdf That study says that the thermal limiter you describe is included in a "typical heater".

UL Standards Exclusions for Commercial Properties

About an exclusion of applicability of the UL Standard for commercial installations of electric baseboard, I didn't see anything in the UL Standard nor in the US CPSC hazard analysis that would exclude these same heaters from having the required safety features in particular applications such as "Commercial" use or in Condos or Apartments.

Furthermore, how would a manufacturer of a particular electric baseboard heater model know the classification of the building into which it is to be installed?

Thermography & Electric Baseboard Heat: detection of abnormal conditions can warn against a building fire

Bill you may not have come across it but over

at THERMAL IMAGING, THERMOGRAPHY in a series of articles, we've been working with Paul PRobett from Incodo (New Zealand) to report on what can be useful and what should be viewed with caution when using thermal scanning of any sort.

And I've had my own little excitement: using a little Exergen thermal temperature sensor to look at some aluminum-wired baseboard heaters during a home inspection I found that one heater was much hotter than its brothers.

I warned the owner about an aluminum wire overheat and fire risk and was nearly run off the property by the volume of his scoffing. That night the house burned down. Luckily no one was injured.

My view is that we can make some use of temperatures mostly by comparison such as in the case I just described. I suspect that unless we are measuring a black emitting surface our temperature readings are not precise.

Your comparison of "much hotter" among some units was the important observation. (Cadetheat has a useful table of wattage output for different baseboard lengths and voltages that may be useful to compare with your field scans.)

More safety inspection points for electric baseboard heat are

at ELECTRIC BASEBOARD HEAT SAFETY.

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Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

On 2017-12-08 - by (mod) -

I'll see what I can find

On 2017-12-07 by Scott

Where can I get a manual for ICP model EF12F1900A3

On 2017-10-18 - by (mod) -

Anon:

I'm unclear what kind of electric heat you have: electric baseboards (typically have individual thermostatic controls or on thermostat for several baseboards), or backup heat for a heat pump system. If you're asking about the latter I suspect a bad control relay or control board - something for your service tech to check.

On 2017-10-18 by Anonymous

Thermostat is calling for emergency Heat but no heat coming from heaters no amp draw on heaters either something not telling the heaters to come on.

On 2017-03-25 - by (mod) -

For the one heater that stopped working I suspect a broken heater element or an open electrical connection. Check resistance across the heating coil. Or continuity.

On 2017-03-25 by earl

I have several gravity type electric baseboard heaters.one stopped heating.i checked meter box and breaker seems ok..we discommected thermostat and hot wored the wiring and heater still did not work so thermostat seems pk.what else could be wrong and what else can I do w can I do?

Question: can electric baseboard heaters be replaced?

Nov 3, 2012) vicci Martinazzi said:

Can this heater be replaced?? I need the same dimensions as above,the box is 33' long, 6 and 7/8" wide and 3and1/8" deep. The in wall heater to be replaced is in a metal box that measures 33 inches long, not feet!! 3 and 1/8 inch deep and 6 and 7/8 inches wide. It is in a 1950's house.

Wesix serial number sf681161 1500 W,12.5 amp. Is there a replacement??? viccimartini@yahoo.com

Reply:

Vicci,
Yes an electric wall heater can be replaced; provided that the feeding circuit is properly wired and sized and fused, it should be a minor matter to remove the old unit and, if you don't find a replacement that fits perfectly in the existing opening, changing the opening size is basically trivial carpentry and drywall work.

Question: Parts for a Wesix 240-V in-wall heater

(Feb 5, 2014) Darrell said:

Hi - I have an older Wesix 240v in-wall electric heater that has a strange copper tube attached to a wire coming out of the fan switch box. I assume it is related to temperature control, but I can't find any info on it. Anyway, the copper tube broke away from the attached wire the other day and left a strong chemical smell in the air that I couldn't identify

. It looks as though I could solder it back on the end of the wire, but I'm not sure it would work if the fluid has spilled from the tube. Does anyone have any suggestions on this problem? Thanks.

Reply:

Darrell, perhaps you could send us some sharp photos - using the CONTACT link found at page top or bottom. I'm not sure, but if what broke was a temperature sensing device the system will not work safely without it.

Question:

(Nov 12, 2011) Kmck said:
Is there any issue with getting insurance for a radiant heated home?

Reply:

not that I know of that's specific to that heating approach

Question: popping sounds from electric baseboard heat

(July 1, 2014) Jason Wyman said:
My electric baseboard is making a really loud popping sound every few minutes. It's the middle of Summer, so the heat obviously isn't turned on. I have no idea what this means. Maybe there's a release valve somewhere to let air out. No sleep tonight.

Reply:

If you feel the electric baseboard and it is cool - or room temperature and is definitely OFF then the popping sound is from another source, possibly temperature changes in other building components or even metal casing of the baseboard.

Question: noisy electric heat

(Nov 2, 2014) Audrey Johnson said:
I have an electric broiler system heated with water in copper piping. There are base board heaters in each room.

There are separate thermostats for upstairs and down. Ever since the temperature has dropped and the heat comes on, there is a loud fast ticking noise in the ceiling on the first level, in two places.

This happens every 10- 15 min when the cycle starts. At the end of the cycle there is a very loud bang that seems to be the cycle shutting off, in the same place where the ticking noise started. This has been keeping me awake all night for weeks.

I had a HVAC service man come over, he cleaned the "burners, spark pilot assembly, and checked anti-freeze, expansion tank,auto vent and pump". However told me this loud obnoxious noise was "normal" and the only way to fix it would be to cut holes in the wall and re-insulate the piping.

Please help! I really think there is something wrong.

Also, I forgot to mention that I turned off both thermostats and the ticking/clicking noise still happens, though it is much slower. This was not happening in the summer months. There was no noise this summer

Reply:

Audrey,

If the noise is caused by movement of heating piping due to thermal expansion I agree in part with your heating tech except the usual fix is to improve clearance around piping where it passes through framing etc, and where needed to change out pipe support mounts to silent nylon lined ons, not simply to add insulation.

If the noise complaint is a new one ask

What has changed?

Question: snapping sound from circuit breaker when heat turns off

(nov 19, 2014) sharky said:
1970 atr-20 wesco electric furnace 20kw! It's a great high quality made unit, but it sure will run you broke at the cost of electricity now adays. These were made for 1970's and 1990's electric rates and not for todays gouging electric rates. Ouch!

(Nov 21, 2014) mark said:
We have an electric forced air heater in a two bedroom 1100sq ft condominium. Upon turning heat on it runs and blows out hot air and them when cycle is almost over the circuit breaker snap or pops. After reset of circuit breaker the heat goes on again and then the same thing happens. What to do.

Reply:

Mark

Watch out: Most likely the electrical circuit is overloaded and popping the breaker. It's time for help from a licensed electrician. The situation is unsafe and risks a fire.

Question: clicking noise from floor heaters

(Nov 26, 2014) Angellos Glaros said:
We have a baseboard and two in floor heaters on one thermostat. Lately when the rooms get up to temperature there is a clicking noise coming from the floor (ducts are down there) and the heaters cycle on and off every 20 seconds or so.
I did replace the thermostat recently but it kind of sounds like there may be a fan or something in the duct.

I'll be going into the crawl space tomorrow to check that out. Does this sound weird? I thought that usually it was just wiring going to the thermostat on the way to the heaters. Would there likely be another fan/switch/relay or something in between? Thanks

Reply:

Angellos

Watch out: I would ask for help from a licensed electrician - it sounds as if there is a bad thermostat or relay, but I'm concerned about the risk of an electrical fire.

Question: heater elements stay on

(Dec 9, 2014) Miles J. Terwillegar said:
It seems like the heater elements stay on after the blower stops. I can feel heat coming from the unit so I turn on the fan manually.

This happened last year, and I shut off, and restarted the heater a few times, and this seemed to have stopped the problem, but now it is happening again. do I need to replace the limit switches?

Thank's, Miles AND please don't say ASK A LICENSED ELECTRICIAN! I am not rich, and will not pay someone hundreds of dollars for something I can do myself easily with the right parts.

Reply:

(Dec 9, 2014) Anonymous said:
It sounds like maybe you have a bad connection if it keeps popping the breaker. Check to make sure all of your wiring is good and solidly connected. (shut off the main breaker first to insure the power is off) If you recently replaced some parts don't assume they are good.

I have gotten bad parts straight out of the box that got past the quality control people IF they even have a testing, and quality control department.

Moderator said:

Sounds like a control board or relay failure.

I understand the wish to DIY, Miles, but keep in mind that some mistakes can cause a fire or electrocution. Part of being smart is to figure out when we need someone on-site who has more experience and training.

At VOLTS / AMPS MEASUREMENT EQUIP the article in ARTICLE INDEX you'll also see some advice about using test instruments and instrument safety. Stay safe.

Question: mobile home electric furnace biower motor stop running?

21 March 2015 kim said:
why wont my mobile home electric furnace biower motor stop running?

Reply:

Kim we offer some diagnostic suggestions at

FAN WONT STOP - LIMIT SWITCH

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Continue reading at ELECTRIC BASEBOARD FEET NEEDED or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• BASEBOARD HEAT REPAIR - home
• ELECTRIC HEAT - home
  • COMMON WIRE at THERMOSTATS
  • CONVERT LINE to LOW VOLTAGE THERMOSTAT
  • ELECTRIC BASEBOARD FEET NEEDED
  • ELECTRIC BASEBOARD HEAT INSPECTION
  • ELECTRIC BASEBOARD HEAT INSTALL
  • ELECTRIC BASEBOARD HEAT SAFETY
  • ELECTRIC HEAT CONTROLS - master list
  • ELECTRIC HEAT DEFECTS LIST
  • ELECTRIC HEAT BASEBOARD DIAGNOSE REPAIR - home
  • ELECTRIC HEATER LOCATIONS
  • ELECTRIC HEAT MANUALS
  • ELECTRIC HEAT TYPES
  • ELECTRIC HEATER RECALLS CADET & ENCORE
  • NIGHT STORAGE HEATERS & HEAT SINK RADIATORS
  • PORTABLE ELECTRIC HEATER FAILURES
  • PORTABLE ELECTRIC HEATER SAFETY
  • THERMOSTAT WIRING ELECTRIC HEAT
• ELECTRICAL POWER SWITCH FOR HEAT
• ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE vs HEAT GENERATED
• MANUALS & PARTS GUIDES - HVAC
• MANUALS for HEATING & A/C SYSTEM CONTROLS
• THERMOSTAT WIRING LINE VOLTAGE 120-208-240VAC - for electric heat
• VOLTS / AMPS MEASUREMENT EQUIP - and DMMs VOMs SAFE USE OF - how to use VOMs and similar test equipment safely

Suggested citation for this web page

ELECTRIC HEAT at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

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INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to ELECTRIC HEAT

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