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Wiring baseboard heaters and AFCI breakers
Posted on 9/29/25 at 4:24 pm
Posted on 9/29/25 at 4:24 pm
So bought a 1970s home with baseboard heat. Had the entire electrical panel replaced as it was a federal pacific known for causing fires.
Electrician was low bid by the sellers. He fricked up the ground which the inspector caught him on and had him fix.
He also fricked up the dryer connection which ended up costing us a $100 restocking fee when we bought a new dryer we didn’t need.
So, apparently he also just went ahead and never connected our baseboard heaters back into the circuit breaker except for one of them. We have several more and I’d like to get them hooked up for winter. Especially because my wife is super cold blooded and will want whatever room she’s in to feel like satans butthole.
The one that is hooked up is on an AFCI breaker, single pole, 15 amps. So I’m assuming that means I have 120v baseboard heaters. They’re old Singers so hard to find any product data to confirm.
When I went to look at breakers, an AFCI breaker is fricking $60 per breaker. Whereas a regular breaker is like $7. I need at least 4 of these things to get the additional heaters hooked back up and $28 is a hell of a lot better than $240.
I really don’t want to have to stomp my feet with the electrician to get him to fix it given the other issues he’s already caused. If I can just use the regular breakers then I am fine with that.
So my question is, are the AFCI breakers necessary and are they really that costly everywhere? And 2 just want to confirm I am hooking these things up correctly so any assistance there would be appreciated. I am generally comfortable doing minor electrical work like reconnecting outlets/switches/breakers but always look for as much advice as possible before I do.
Electrician was low bid by the sellers. He fricked up the ground which the inspector caught him on and had him fix.
He also fricked up the dryer connection which ended up costing us a $100 restocking fee when we bought a new dryer we didn’t need.
So, apparently he also just went ahead and never connected our baseboard heaters back into the circuit breaker except for one of them. We have several more and I’d like to get them hooked up for winter. Especially because my wife is super cold blooded and will want whatever room she’s in to feel like satans butthole.
The one that is hooked up is on an AFCI breaker, single pole, 15 amps. So I’m assuming that means I have 120v baseboard heaters. They’re old Singers so hard to find any product data to confirm.
When I went to look at breakers, an AFCI breaker is fricking $60 per breaker. Whereas a regular breaker is like $7. I need at least 4 of these things to get the additional heaters hooked back up and $28 is a hell of a lot better than $240.
I really don’t want to have to stomp my feet with the electrician to get him to fix it given the other issues he’s already caused. If I can just use the regular breakers then I am fine with that.
So my question is, are the AFCI breakers necessary and are they really that costly everywhere? And 2 just want to confirm I am hooking these things up correctly so any assistance there would be appreciated. I am generally comfortable doing minor electrical work like reconnecting outlets/switches/breakers but always look for as much advice as possible before I do.
3
Posted on 9/29/25 at 8:17 pm to jlovel7
Probably not strictly needed but those things do eat up a lot of power. I'd probably do some tests and make sure they are clean and serviceable before wiring them up.
Posted on 9/29/25 at 9:30 pm to Clames
quote:
Probably not strictly needed but those things do eat up a lot of power. I'd probably do some tests and make sure they are clean and serviceable before wiring them up.
The former owners claimed to have used them without issue the entire time.
I do plan to replace them. Baseboard heaters are not that expensive from what I’ve found.
Posted on 9/29/25 at 9:56 pm to jlovel7
Yeah, wouldn't trust the prior owners one bit. Just because they might have been producing heat doesn't mean everything is right with them. Post whatever model information you have or some pictures of the units themselves, a simple multimeter can test out things like a dead short, bad heating coil, etc., before putting power back to them.
Posted on 9/30/25 at 9:57 am to Clames
quote:
Yeah, wouldn't trust the prior owners one bit. Just because they might have been producing heat doesn't mean everything is right with them. Post whatever model information you have or some pictures of the units themselves, a simple multimeter can test out things like a dead short, bad heating coil, etc., before putting power back to them.
So even weirder, I’m looking at pictures of the old breaker from my inspection but it LOOKS like all the baseboard heaters are set up on 240v circuits. Some on 15 amps and some on 20. Very confusing.
I asked the inspection company to send me the full photos because the ones in the report are horribly compressed and hard to read.
Once I get the photos I can see how it was originally wired. Still working on model numbers.
Posted on 9/30/25 at 10:42 am to jlovel7
Exactly why I suggested not going with what the previous owners stated. Might have a mix of 3.6kW and 4.8kW heaters but they are probably all 3.6kW. They should all be on 20-Amp breakers, that way they are under 80% capacity when running. Make sure once the breaker situation is figured out, and they are labeled, keep those breakers off until needed for the season. Don't rely on the thermostats of those old units to keep them off. I would definitely put a clamp meter on the breakers to check the actual current draw for each unit.
Posted on 9/30/25 at 10:49 am to jlovel7
get the wiring straightened out for sure, but additionally you might look into converting the baseboard to cove heater as they're more energy efficient and don't have to worry about putting furniture etc up against them
We bought a new home that has electric baseboard and currently in the process of moving them all to cove units.
We bought a new home that has electric baseboard and currently in the process of moving them all to cove units.
Posted on 9/30/25 at 11:36 am to jlovel7
So I peeled the main panel off at lunch and found this.
Volts 208/240
Amps 2.7/3.1
watts 565/750
That’s just one. I’ll have to go check the rest later when I have more time. I also need to confirm the wiring gauge. If it’s 14/2 then I don’t think I can upgrade to a 20 amp circuit. I need to dig in there and measure the gauge of the wire to confirm they’re all 12/2.
My understanding on running a 240v heater at 120v is that it is not unsafe, just not efficient and under-powers the unit. So I hope I didn’t damage anything when I flipped it on. I’ll flip that one off for now knowing that it’s not wired correctly.
Volts 208/240
Amps 2.7/3.1
watts 565/750
That’s just one. I’ll have to go check the rest later when I have more time. I also need to confirm the wiring gauge. If it’s 14/2 then I don’t think I can upgrade to a 20 amp circuit. I need to dig in there and measure the gauge of the wire to confirm they’re all 12/2.
My understanding on running a 240v heater at 120v is that it is not unsafe, just not efficient and under-powers the unit. So I hope I didn’t damage anything when I flipped it on. I’ll flip that one off for now knowing that it’s not wired correctly.
Posted on 9/30/25 at 12:11 pm to jlovel7
it depends on the revision of NEC your local AHJ is requiring. If you DIY this, you can probably do regular breakers that have worked fine in that application for many decades. If you hire a quality electrician that will only do work according to code, they may very well only be willing to install what the NEC requires. Recent versions of the NEC tend to require AFCI in living spaces like bedrooms and living rooms.
Posted on 9/30/25 at 12:13 pm to jlovel7
If you run a 240V resistance heater at 120V, it is still 100% efficient but you will only get 50% of the rated heat out of it. So instead of 750W of heat, you'd get only 375W.
Posted on 9/30/25 at 12:24 pm to notsince98
quote:
you run a 240V resistance heater at 120V, it is still 100% efficient but you will only get 50% of the rated heat out of it. So instead of 750W of heat, you'd get only 375W.
So running at 240 with double pole breakers this would max out my panels slots before I’d need to look into running a sub panel. My future plans (years away at minimum) are to run 50 amps of power to my shed and also add some mini splits in the basement. I’m assuming I will for sure need a sub panel to add those given that I will be at 100% capacity in terms of breaker slots.
If I feel like I get enough heat out of running them on single poles at 120, won’t that save electricity and slots on my panel? If I’m fine with the heat output and it’s not damaging anything or costing me more, why not? To get even crazier is there anything wrong with running them on a tandem breaker to preserve even more slots?
This post was edited on 9/30/25 at 12:26 pm
Posted on 9/30/25 at 12:39 pm to jlovel7
quote:
If I feel like I get enough heat out of running them on single poles at 120, won’t that save electricity
If you have a t-stat to control the heaters, you will not save any energy running at 120V if you are keeping it at the same indoor temperature.
Posted on 9/30/25 at 1:40 pm to notsince98
quote:
you have a t-stat to control the heaters, you will not save any energy running at 120V if you are keeping it at the same indoor temperature.
Understood. So the question shifts, if it can run at 120v and keep up with the cold, I can save some spaces on my panel. And I assume the reason for that is it has to run twice as long (or whatever the multiplier is) on half (again whatever the multiplier is) the electricity to get up to temperature?
Just wanted to clarify, I 100% understand more spaces does not equal more power. Just more convenience for being able to run an additional circuit on the same amount of capacity I already have.
This post was edited on 9/30/25 at 1:42 pm
Posted on 9/30/25 at 3:11 pm to jlovel7
Those units are essentially low-grade space heaters if you run them on 120V, given that most plug-in 120V space heaters run at 1200 - 1500W. A 350W heater isn't going to do much for an average sized room. I have a smaller Vornado space heater I gave to my fiancée for her office at work, runs about 450 - 600W but her office is pretty small.
As for your electrical panel, they do make tandem single-pole breakers that can give you more circuits.
As for your electrical panel, they do make tandem single-pole breakers that can give you more circuits.
This post was edited on 9/30/25 at 3:14 pm
Posted on 9/30/25 at 4:01 pm to Clames
quote:
As for your electrical panel, they do make tandem single-pole breakers that can give you more circuits.
Pretty much all of my single pole circuits already appear to be in tandems so this will basically max me out. I’m not near the panel but maybe 1 or 2 are not so I may be able to squeeze just enough space to run a sub panel off a double pole for future expansion.
Posted on 9/30/25 at 8:53 pm to jlovel7
You must have replaced that FP panel with something pretty small. I have an old split-bus panel in my home, will be definitely getting it upgraded with room for extra circuits.
Posted on 9/30/25 at 9:52 pm to Clames
quote:
You must have replaced that FP panel with something pretty small. I have an old split-bus panel in my home, will be definitely getting it upgraded with room for extra circuits.
Sadly that was negotiated by my realtor and the seller.
If we buy again I will look closer at that. To be honest though I knew little about electrical in that regard to push for a bigger panel at the time. It’s a 200 amp service which may be small relative to new SFH construction. I need to go count how many circuit openings it has.
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