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from Norma in Limestone, ME:
#1000
Does it save energy to shut the flap on hot water baseboard registers? If so, how?
Baseboard registers have flaps to regulate heat in each room.
The flap is there to regulate heat flow to the room. Open the flap and convection will move more heat into the room, close it for less heat. Some would argue how well that works but let's assume it does. Unlike a forced air system, a there are less concerns with closing off registers for a hot water system because:
- you aren't restricting the flow of water and
- a boiler can handle the water coming back if it's a little hotter than originally designed.
Just make sure that you don't close too many and that reducing the heat doesn't lead to moisture issues in those colder rooms.
It's a very different situation for a forced air system where closing off registers can quickly affect the efficiency and durability of the furnace.
Published Tuesday, March 01, 2011