Converting Baseboard Heaters to Central Heat??

[Anonymous]

What’s the ballpark cost and how difficult is it? Assuming you already have central cooling.

[Anonymous]

Are you talking about electric baseboard or hot water?

[Anonymous]

If you already have the duct work, then you just need to add a furnace. It depends on the quality of the furnace and house size. Probably $5-8K for a unit but depending on your AC, you might want to swap it out and it would be about $9-16K for an entire system swap out. You can then remove the baseboard heaters but its not really converting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you talking about electric baseboard or hot water?

OP here- hot water

[Anonymous]

Do you have central air conditioning? If so, it's fairly easy - just add a furnace to the mix.

If not, you have to run ducts and returns everywhere, and that takes real space and effort depending on how your house is built.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you talking about electric baseboard or hot water?

OP here- hot water

OK, a little nomenclature that may help you describe what you want. "Central heat" is any kind of heat where multiple rooms are served by the same heat source. As opposed to an electric baseboard heater or a mini split or a fireplace or a space heater. You already have central heat.

There are two main kinds of central heat: forced air, where air is heated and blown around the house in ducts, and hot water, where water is heated and pumped around the house in pipes. So what you're talking about is converting from hot water central heat to forced air.

Probably the first thing a heating and cooling guy will say to you is "Why? Hot water is a better system."

The device that heats the water in a hot water system is called a boiler. The device that heats air in a forced air system is called a furnace. If you already have central air conditioning you can often add a furnace to that system (but not always) and get rid of the boiler. If you just want to get rid of radiators in a few rooms you can keep the boiler and put a hot water coil in the ductwork that heats the air.

[Anonymous]

Ignore the last poster. If you have an air-conditioning system you have the duct work and just need to add a furnace. Call an HVAC person to come out and get multiple bids.

[Anonymous]

I am getting gas heat and central AC installed. No gas or ducts currently in the house. 2 units. Estimates have ranged from about $35-55k. Then we have to remove the electric baseboard units and mini split AC units, and repair/repaint drywall from the ductwork.

We got 5 estimates. Plus a solar estimate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ignore the last poster. If you have an air-conditioning system you have the duct work and just need to add a furnace. Call an HVAC person to come out and get multiple bids.

Anonymous wrote:I am getting gas heat and central AC installed. No gas or ducts currently in the house. 2 units. Estimates have ranged from about $35-55k. Then we have to remove the electric baseboard units and mini split AC units, and repair/repaint drywall from the ductwork.

We got 5 estimates. Plus a solar estimate.

The two sides. One fairly easy. Not decidedly not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ignore the last poster. If you have an air-conditioning system you have the duct work and just need to add a furnace. Call an HVAC person to come out and get multiple bids.

Anonymous wrote:I am getting gas heat and central AC installed. No gas or ducts currently in the house. 2 units. Estimates have ranged from about $35-55k. Then we have to remove the electric baseboard units and mini split AC units, and repair/repaint drywall from the ductwork.

We got 5 estimates. Plus a solar estimate.

The two sides. One fairly easy. Not decidedly not.

Should be: The two sides. One fairly easy. One decidedly not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you talking about electric baseboard or hot water?

OP here- hot water

OK, a little nomenclature that may help you describe what you want. "Central heat" is any kind of heat where multiple rooms are served by the same heat source. As opposed to an electric baseboard heater or a mini split or a fireplace or a space heater. You already have central heat.

There are two main kinds of central heat: forced air, where air is heated and blown around the house in ducts, and hot water, where water is heated and pumped around the house in pipes. So what you're talking about is converting from hot water central heat to forced air.

Probably the first thing a heating and cooling guy will say to you is "Why? Hot water is a better system."

The device that heats the water in a hot water system is called a boiler. The device that heats air in a forced air system is called a furnace. If you already have central air conditioning you can often add a furnace to that system (but not always) and get rid of the boiler. If you just want to get rid of radiators in a few rooms you can keep the boiler and put a hot water coil in the ductwork that heats the air.

+1.

We have a boiler and a furnace. Prefer the baseboard heat, which is a lot more efficient and comfortable. The HVAC guy who installed it said on really cold days use the boiler instead of the furnace.

[Anonymous]

Most people believe hot water baseboard heat is nicer/more comfortable, so not sure why you want to replace it. But if you do, you may be able to swap in a heat pump for your current a/c and reuse the duct work. More eco friendly way to heat. Costs several thousand to rip out the old baseboards and repair and repaint basically every wall in your house though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most people believe hot water baseboard heat is nicer/more comfortable, so not sure why you want to replace it. But if you do, you may be able to swap in a heat pump for your current a/c and reuse the duct work. More eco friendly way to heat. Costs several thousand to rip out the old baseboards and repair and repaint basically every wall in your house though.

I prefer a gas furnace. Grew up with baseboard and hated it. Uneven heating, very dry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most people believe hot water baseboard heat is nicer/more comfortable, so not sure why you want to replace it. But if you do, you may be able to swap in a heat pump for your current a/c and reuse the duct work. More eco friendly way to heat. Costs several thousand to rip out the old baseboards and repair and repaint basically every wall in your house though.

I prefer a gas furnace. Grew up with baseboard and hated it. Uneven heating, very dry.

You're making no sense. The fuel -- gas, oil, propane or electricity -- is independent of the heat distribution mechanism, forced air or hot water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most people believe hot water baseboard heat is nicer/more comfortable, so not sure why you want to replace it. But if you do, you may be able to swap in a heat pump for your current a/c and reuse the duct work. More eco friendly way to heat. Costs several thousand to rip out the old baseboards and repair and repaint basically every wall in your house though.

I prefer a gas furnace. Grew up with baseboard and hated it. Uneven heating, very dry.

Forced air is generally drier than hot water.

The reason air in the house is dry in the winter is that the outside air has a very low moisture content in winter. The more outside air that gets in the drier the house is. If you had a perfectly sealed house it would be humid even if heated.

Forced air systems will have more air infiltration in the same house than hot water. In order to get the air to move it has to be slightly pressurized in rooms with a supply and slightly de-pressurized in rooms with a return. That pressure differential encourages more outside air to infiltrate the house.