Home Heating
December 13, 2004 9:24 AM Subscribe
Another heating question!
We just moved to another apartment. It turns out this landlord has the furnace set up oddly: usually the filter goes between the burner/blower and the ductwork to the rooms, but here he's put it on the incoming vent before the furnace. Does that make sense?
Generally, my experience with forced air makes me really miss radiators. I don't like the idea of having dust mite poo blown up my nose, for one thing. Is it that radiators are more efficient and/or cheaper than forced air, or is it that gas furnaces seem more "modern"?
We just moved to another apartment. It turns out this landlord has the furnace set up oddly: usually the filter goes between the burner/blower and the ductwork to the rooms, but here he's put it on the incoming vent before the furnace. Does that make sense?
Generally, my experience with forced air makes me really miss radiators. I don't like the idea of having dust mite poo blown up my nose, for one thing. Is it that radiators are more efficient and/or cheaper than forced air, or is it that gas furnaces seem more "modern"?
I think you're mixing apples and oranges. Whether the furnace is gas or not is not linked to whether the heat is forced air or avec radiators.
I think forced air exists because it can accomodate air conditioning.
posted by ParisParamus at 9:35 AM on December 13, 2004
I think forced air exists because it can accomodate air conditioning.
posted by ParisParamus at 9:35 AM on December 13, 2004
What quonsar said. Putting a filter after the blower and burner seems like a recipe for a fire.
I don't know how radiators and central heat/air compare in efficiency.
posted by mbd1mbd1 at 9:41 AM on December 13, 2004
I don't know how radiators and central heat/air compare in efficiency.
posted by mbd1mbd1 at 9:41 AM on December 13, 2004
The filter should go between the return duct and the furnace, not after the furnace and before the main duct. Either position will filter dust going to the main duct. If you put it prior to the furnace it also filters the air before it enters the heat exchanger so that the heat exchanger stays clean and keeps your efficiency up. It also more efficient for the fan to draw the air through the filter rather than have to push the air through. Your landlord has it set-up correctly.
posted by caddis at 9:42 AM on December 13, 2004
posted by caddis at 9:42 AM on December 13, 2004
Radiators are definitely found in the US only in older or rehabbed buildings, not in newer ones. I suspect this is because they're liabilities in rental units, not super good for moving the heat around, and a bitch to keep clean. However Paris is right, it's perfectly possible to have a gas/oil furnace and then have it heat water in a boiler that then goes to your radiators. That said, it should be easy enough for you to put filters of your own in front of the vents [behind the grates but at the end of the ducts], to keep the dust mite poo out of your nose. The filters on the cold air intake are mostly there to keep crap out of the furnace [which is what your landlord probaby cares more about] than dust out of your unit and are set up properly.
posted by jessamyn at 9:45 AM on December 13, 2004
posted by jessamyn at 9:45 AM on December 13, 2004
Standard filter location is before the furnace for forced air furnaces.
posted by Doohickie at 10:45 AM on December 13, 2004
posted by Doohickie at 10:45 AM on December 13, 2004
Response by poster: Thanks folks. I stand reassured: it seems the prior landlords I recall had it wrong. (And I've lived in far more radiator-heated places, obviously.) There's also a place for a(nother) filter to go after the blower and burner in this one, by the way, but refiltering the heated air just before it hits the ducts seems too redundant even for me. (Though yes, I do have "client-side" filters on the vent in my room as well.)
posted by davy at 11:16 AM on December 13, 2004
posted by davy at 11:16 AM on December 13, 2004
Paris has it right: forced air heat will be used in situations where one wishes to have cooling as well. Radiant cooling systems are incredibly inefficient for large spatial volumes.
One other possible benefit of using air: the ability to add humidity with the heat.
IIRC, radiators (really, convectors) are a more efficient means of heating. Water is a better means to distribute heat that air. In the places I have lived, I have found that I prefer fin-tube convectors (aka radiators) over all else, with one exception: radiant floors.
Some folks do not like the feel of a warm floor underfoot but these systems have the extra advantage of being draftless. A conventional "radiator" (as noted above) is really a convector and as such, relies on air moving past its surface to distribute heat. With this come drafts and dust. Of course, drafts and dust are also a problem with moving volumes of air, except for the aforementioned filtering. If the dustmitepoo really creeps you out, you might look into a HEPA filter. I am not certain of the ins-and-outs there -- don't even know if all air handlers can handle them, with the likely accompanying reduced airflow.
posted by Dick Paris at 2:40 PM on December 13, 2004
One other possible benefit of using air: the ability to add humidity with the heat.
IIRC, radiators (really, convectors) are a more efficient means of heating. Water is a better means to distribute heat that air. In the places I have lived, I have found that I prefer fin-tube convectors (aka radiators) over all else, with one exception: radiant floors.
Some folks do not like the feel of a warm floor underfoot but these systems have the extra advantage of being draftless. A conventional "radiator" (as noted above) is really a convector and as such, relies on air moving past its surface to distribute heat. With this come drafts and dust. Of course, drafts and dust are also a problem with moving volumes of air, except for the aforementioned filtering. If the dustmitepoo really creeps you out, you might look into a HEPA filter. I am not certain of the ins-and-outs there -- don't even know if all air handlers can handle them, with the likely accompanying reduced airflow.
posted by Dick Paris at 2:40 PM on December 13, 2004
If it goes on the output side, the intake will heat up/burn dust and hair. Ewww....stinky.
posted by plinth at 5:28 PM on December 13, 2004
posted by plinth at 5:28 PM on December 13, 2004
Another benefit of forced air is the speed with which you can heat a house. Radiators take lots of time to heat up, then you have to wait for that heat to eminate out. Forced air blows it out and in 15 minutes you can go from 50 to 70 degrees F.
posted by Goofyy at 2:43 AM on December 15, 2004
posted by Goofyy at 2:43 AM on December 15, 2004
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posted by quonsar at 9:29 AM on December 13, 2004