Convert Old Farm house from baseboard electric

Jeff Schmone

I have a old (pre revolutionary war) home about 1,000 ft above sea level 60 miles north of New York City. It has baseboard electric heating and I'd like to switch to something else and am open to suggestions.

I'd like to avoid adding a new chimney, and there is less than perfect insulation and seal around doors and windows.

Any suggestions?

Empire_2

Sky's the limit

You can plan on spending alot of $ to convert to anything. Need more info,.etc. full basement?, any gas..prop. or nat gas ....???

Steamhead

Jeff, the first thing I'd do

is beef up the insulation, weatherstripping and other improvements to the building's envelope. Then do a heat-loss based on these upgrades. The resulting system will be smaller than if you hadn't upgraded the envelope, so it will be less expensive to buy and operate.

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Jeff Schmone

Propane gas is available, but no natural gas (unless there is a way to get it delivered similar to propane).

There is a basement which was dug out below the original house which was built on logs lying on the ground.

BillW@honeywell

Steamhead is absolutely right...

roof, windows, doors, insulation...tighten the building envelope first, then you can save both on the size of the equipment you install, and the operating costs as well. Oil? Natural Gas? Propane? Wood? Remember that the cost of energy is the third largest cost for a homeowner after taxes and mortgage. Think of your house as a system, and don't make the mistake of considering only your heating/cooling system in energy usage terms. Domestic hot water, refrigerators/freezers, ranges & ovens, other appliances, and lighting all are part of your energy use picture. The EnergyStar program is a good starting place, equipment rated with the "EnergyStar" sticker is more efficient than non-rated stuff.

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Steamhead

Fuels

Your best bet in this case is probably oil. It has always cost less per BTU than propane, and it even costs less per BTU than natural gas at the moment.

I'm leery of using propane since it is heavier than air, and can build up on a floor or other low place, waiting for something to ignite it. This has resulted in some memorable explosions. In some areas it is now illegal to install propane-fired equipment in basements.

Modern oil-fired equipment burns with zero smoke and smell and similar efficiency to gas, when installed and tuned properly.

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