Forced air vs radiant heat?

Question

I grew up in a house with forced air heat, and never thought a thing of it. I just moved into an apartment with my husband, and we have radiant heat. I guess I was wondering, which is more cost and energy efficient? Forced air heat or radiant heat?

Cheers

Answer 1

Radiant heat, but that answer is slightly more complex.

First, if by "efficient" you mean "makes the most of the energy that enters your house" then any electric source will be more energy efficient than any gas or oil source.  By that definition, electric heat is 100% efficient, whereas gas or oil is perhaps 85% or 90% efficient.  

If by "efficient" you mean "makes the most of the raw materials used to make the energy" then any gas or oil source is likely more efficient than any electric source, since electric power plants are only about 40% efficient.

And lower cost depends more on the fuel you use, rather than the system efficiency.  With the same fuel, radiant is cheaper.

Radiant heat also claims to be more efficient because it typically "feels" warmer - it heats the floors and the chairs, which then feel warm to the touch, rather than heating the air.  So you can actually keep the house slightly cooler, since all the furnishing / walls / floor feel warmer.

Forced air does not actually remove significantly more moisture than radiant heat - although forced air can FEEL drier since it may be blowing on you.   The reasoning is a bit technical.  Cold air will hold less moisture than hot air.  When you warm the cold air up, its relative humidity drops.  That is, the now-warm air can hold a lot more moisture than it used to when it was cold.  So it feels very very dry, regardless of which heating method you use.

Answer 2

That is a great question.

Forced air warms the air, radiant heat warms objects and air.

Some are more efficient than others by design, by fuel and by installer experience, each has its own merits.

I personally use forced air but prefer the feel of radiant as it doesn't just warm the air but it also warms objects in a space...it tends to envelope a person where forced warms only the air, that is why on bitter cold days forced air will feel warm for a short time then the cold seems to ooze through the walls, this because the forced air has removed the moisture from the air where radiant does not...and moisture in air is a good thing as it acts like a kind of molecular binder or glue.

Ok, now that your eyes have glazed over and your head just smacked the desktop then you have to ask the real question, how weathertight is your home?

This alone can make or break the best heating system.

I guess it all comes down to doing your homework to get the best for you.

I have to admit though, Rivergirl100 makes some very good points that should be considered as well.

Answer 3

Radiant heat is more efficient, air is a very poor conductor of heat.

Answer 4

Radiant heat, but only slightly so.  The real benefit of radiant heat is that it doesn't take moisture out of the air - you don't need to run a humidifier to make up for it.