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1. What is the percent of total US households that are heated by electric baseboard heaters? 2. What is the percent of total US households that are heated by hydronic (hot water) baseboard heaters?
Hello! Thanks for your question about electronic and hydronic baseboard heaters. The most useful sources I found to answer your question are the 2013 US Census Report, 2015 US Census Report and Contractor magazine. The short version is that in 2015, 0.0039 percent homes in the US were heated by electric baseboard heaters and 0.0102 percent homes in the US were heated by hydronic baseboard heaters. Below you will find a deep dive of my findings.
OVERVIEW
Baseboard heaters are small ductless heating units that are placed on the floor or a little above it. They are usually used to heat up spaces with drafts like under the window. They are different from space heaters which are smaller electric units. Usually, these use either electricity (convection) or hydronic for heating. Since these are more localized than centralized-heating, they are more energy efficient.
The main benefits of using baseboard heaters are:
*Lower energy bills - Turning on the centralized heating leads to wastage in the unoccupied parts of the house. With baseboard heaters, you can selectively heat the occupied parts of the house.
* Perfect for corners of the house - Corners or sections of the house where the centralized heating is not effective, baseboard heaters can be used as localized heating.
*Supplement to centralized heating - Baseboard heaters can act as a supplement to centralized heating during the colder months.
*Portability - Baseboard heaters can easily be re-positioned and placed anywhere in the house as required.
NOTES
All the data presented here is from the United States Census Report. The latest data available is from 2015 as Census is collected every two years. Although the data about the number of heating units was originally collected in 2013, the data was updated in February 2015.
In the report, under the heading of "main heating equipment", there is a section for "Steam or hot water system" (hydronic) and a section for "Floor, wall, or other built-in hot-air units without ducts" (electric baseboard).
I have assumed "Floor, wall, or other built-in hot-air units without ducts" to be electric baseboard heaters because baseboards are ductless heating units that are placed on the floor. I have not included "portable electric heaters" because these usually refer to space heaters, rather than baseboard heaters. I have also excluded all the other categories as they referred to heat pumps, built-in units, room heaters, fireplaces or space heaters.
For calculations, I have taken the "total housing units" instead of "occupied housing units" because unoccupied housing units may also have baseboard heaters, even if they are not being used.
CALCULATIONS
Percent of total US households that were heated by electric baseboard heaters in 2015
= (Number of US households heated by electric baseboard heaters in 2015 / Total housing units in 2015) * 100
= (5204 / 133,351,840) * 100
= 0.0039 percent
Percent of total US households that were heated by hydronic baseboard heaters in 2015
= (Number of US households heated by hydronic baseboard heaters in 2015 / Total housing units in 2015) * 100
= (13708 / 133,351,840) * 100
= 0.0102 percent
RESULT
Percent of total US households that were heated by electric baseboard heaters in 2015 = 0.0039 percent
Percent of total US households that were heated by hydronic baseboard heaters in 2015 = 0.0102 percent
CONCLUSION
These numbers may seem surprising but these small numbers are corroborated by the fact that the share of hyrdronic heaters in American homes has come down 80% from 1973. Rather than using separate heating units like baseboard heaters, homeowners prefer a centralized unit that can provide both heating and cooling.
To wrap it up, in 2015, 0.0039 percent homes in the US were heated by electric baseboard heaters and 0.0102 percent homes in the US were heated by hydronic baseboard heaters. Thanks for using Wonder! Please let us know if we can help with anything else!