h involves exposed radiators.

Radiators are now constructed in many different forms, to fit under
windows, in corners, in fireplaces, under cabinets, and so on. Much
effort has been directed also toward relieving their painful ugliness,
and if of a neat design appropriately colored they need not be a
serious blot upon the decorative scheme of a room.

Radiators, in the direct system, should be placed far enough from the
walls to permit free circulation over the heating surfaces, and should
not be directly covered at the top. Ordinarily there are good reasons
for putting them near the more exposed places, such as windows and
outer doors. As both steam and hot water furnish a dry heat, provision
should be made in every room for evaporation of water.

SUMMARY

With no prejudice against good furnaces, it may be said that hot water
apparently affords the greatest possibilities for comfort and
regularity of heating, and that there are usually no reasons why it
cannot be utilized in country houses. A hot-water installation is
likely to cost twice as much as a furnace, but if we are to live in the
house it is better to make our estimates cover ten or twenty years
rather than to bear too strongly on first costs.

The following table, while it must not be taken as fully conclusive,
gives at least a basis of consideration:

HOT AIR. STEAM. HOT WATER.
First cost.................. Small. Higher. Highest.
Comparative coal
consumption ............ 18 1/2 tons. 13 1/2 tons. 10 tons.
Average durability.......... 12 years. 35 years. *Indestructible
Heat distribution........... Uneven. Regular. Even.
Temperature................. Variable. Fair. Regular.
Ventilation................. Good, if Good, with Good, with
properly indirect indirect
managed. system. system.
Quality of heated air....... Ditto. Ditto. Ditto.
Dust and dirt............... Much. Little. None.
Danger of fire.............. Moderate. None. None.
Danger of explosion......... Slight. None. None.
Noise....................... None. Occasional. Almost none.
Management.................. *Delightful. *Pleasure. *Joy.
Relative cost of apparatus.. 9 13 15