To convert or not convert, forced air to hot water.

DaveInMontana

I have an old house with a 125,000 BTU gas forced air furnace in the basement.

The previous owners changed the basement access such that the stairs interfere with the service port on the furnace that allows for changing the filter and removing the fan.

I am considering relocation of the furnace but, on second thought, considering replacing the whole system with a hot water boiler / baseboard register system.

The forced air works "OK" although it is straining during coldest winter days (-40F) and the heat is not well distributed throughout the house. But since the furnace is old, and needs to be relocated anyway, I am asking for advice on the general sensibility of doing a conversion to hot water.

Also: the second floor of this house is heated with electric baseboard, which works quite well but is more expensive than gas, and I am wondering if extending the hot water approach to the second floor might make sense too.

Any opinions are most welcome. Thank you for reading my post.

-Dave In Montana

Jon_blaney

Cheapest solution is to redo the stairs. Is it propane or natural gas?

EBEBRATT-Ed

It's all about comfort. Hot water done properly is much better than forced air but if you have air conditioning in your future you may want to use furnaces.

Electric base bord will be comfortable but is expensive to run.

Your choice may come down to what the installers in your area are comfortable with.

I would recommend you do a heat loss of the house (most contractors should but don't do them0

The right size equipment and the right contractor is the most important thing.

Steamhead

I've been to Montana- does one really need A/C there?

DCContrarian

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1806905#Comment_1806905

You don't think it would be cheaper just to rotate the air handler 90 degrees?

EdTheHeaterMan

hot_rod

Air conditioning, or air quality adjustments are a few reasons to have a ducted system. A homes resale is fairly dependent on AC these days even in the mountain areas.

So if the ducted system is in good shape, replace the furnace and move it or the stairs.

It might be a bit of a challenge adding hydronics to a two story home, easily.