toe-kick heater: electric vs. hydronic

15 years ago

Can anyone tell me the relative costs and advantages/disadvantages of hydronic and electric toe-kick heaters? In our kitchen remodel, we are losing one 6-foot run of hot water baseboard heat, and the contractor offered that we could have a hydronic toe-kick heater installed for $500, in that location. I now notice that he plans to install an electric toe-kick heater, instead. (Two other electric toe-kick heaters are planned for the kitchen island.)

-Would you expect an electric toe-kick to cost the same as a hydronic, given the above situation? Is one preferable to the other?

Thank you!

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helenjoan
Original Author

15 years ago

The contractor did not ask me about switching from hydronic to electric - I just noticed the substitution, and now I'm trying to decide if I should insist on the hydronic, or accept the substitution (should the price be lower??). The contractor told me that the hydronic system would also require a fan, so it is interesting to hear that yours works without it.

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Comments (10)

fandlil
15 years ago
I'm not sure of the technology in your description. By electric, do you mean coils that heat up or a heat pump that blows heated air through openings in the toekick?

I believe hydronic means that heated water is pumped into coils in an air exchange system, and then a fan blows air through the heated coils, heats the air, and sends it into the vents and out through the toekick or any other opening. Question: Is the water heated in an electric or gas (or even oil) boiler?

Electric systems are nearly always more expensive to operate than gas, but often less expensive to install. In my experience, hydronic systems tend to dry the air less than systems that heat the air by other means.
msm859
15 years ago
If you already have the setup for hydronic i.e. a boiler, why would you even consider electric? I have toekick hydronic heaters in my kitchen including the island. Does not need any type of fan, all convection and works great. The bottom of all the cabinets have slots that look architectural, except some of them have heaters behind them.
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radiantman08
15 years ago
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msm859
15 years ago
I bought some inexpensive baseboard heaters, took the covers off so i just had the fins and copper pipe in the middle and they fit perfect in the toekick. Placed 4 around a large kitchen -- 2 islands. No fans. System works perfect. Your contractor is lazy trying to use electric. It will be less efficient and noisy. I also have a good sized regular baseboard heater in the breakfast nook below the window
pepperidge_farm
15 years ago
So, msm859, you just used the finned copper pipe and ran it behind the "toe-kick" space under the cabinets? Is that what you mean?

We are trying to resolve a tight heating situation in our bathroom, loosing lots of baseboard, don't want the fans in the standard toe-kicks, looking for solutions and tossing around a few laternatives...
zl700
15 years ago
The only problem with installing fin tube under a cabinet is you are now cooking the cabinet and everything in it. I guess that is OK if you are storing towels, but definitely not food. IÂm not sure how the cabinet base holds up when subjected 180 degree convection though.

To the original poster, I believe he is lazy too, doesnÂt wish to figure out or learn how to pipe a Hydronic kickspace properly in the middle of a series hot water circuit or doesnÂt wish to add a zone and all the piping.

In the end it doesnÂt make sense to waste electricity to heat the kitchen when the boiler is operating and the hot water is present.
helenjoan
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you - all your comments were very helpful. I insisted on staying with the hydronic in the perimeter cabinet, where our hot water piping was already present (at a cost of $600), and stayed with all-electic in the island, where there was no piping. So I guess we will get to see the difference this winter - the cabinet installation began today!
kframe19
15 years ago
BOTH an electric and hydronic toe kick heater will have a fan included as part of the unit.

It makes absolutely no sense to me to go with an electric unit when you have hot water heating serving the kitchen already.

When Mom and Dad redid their kitchen they lost a pretty significant portion of the baseboard heat and installed two hydronic toe kick heaters.

They do a fine job.
msm859
15 years ago
So, msm859, you just used the finned copper pipe and ran it behind the "toe-kick" space under the cabinets? Is that what you mean?
Yes. And the temperature does not get up to 180 -- closer to 140. Been in 4 years no problem. I would NOT have electric as part of the equation. Are you on a slab? why can't you plumb to the island? Also, I have never had a problem without any fans -- its called convection.