One of the real plus points of a baseboard hot water heater is that is is unobtrusive in a a room yet still hugely effective. The look of heating devices is increasingly important - most home owners now make a trade-off between functionality and the attractiveness of the design.
For some baseboard hot water fins are just the job, since they combine function with form. If you believe that design should reflect the function - if it should look nice but still look like it can do the job - then these units may be for you.
Of course baseboard heating systems can be removed from the design equation altogether by keeping them as out of sight as possible. There are special cover available that do not impact much on the efficiency of the units. One no-no however is to hide the units behind your furniture - this stops the radiation from working effectively. You would be paying to heat up the back of your sofa!
When it comes to hot water baseboard heat the other main decision to make is how you are going to provide the hot water. This is a key behind the scenes decision that should not be taken lightly. Choose the right boiler and your system will be cheap, efficient and trouble free.
Home hot water boilers can be gas, oil, wood, solar, electrically powered... You should do some research into each of these and your particular needs - there is no one size fits all answer to the right boiler fuel. What we can agree on however is that you should choose a modern, energy efficient model to get best value.