converting hot air

Mary_2

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond.

Mary_2

Converting hot air to hot water heat

Hi. We own a 1949 ranch with a terribly dry hot air system. The furnace is, we believe, the original. I grew up with radiators, so I can't stand this system. It seems expensive to convert to cast iron baseboard/hot water system, but we can afford it. Not that we have money to throw around, but is it worth it?
Thank you! You run a terrific web site.

Wayco Wayne_2

Radiant heat

is more comfortable. Find a good contractor who really knows hydronics and get his input. Good luck on your project. WW

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Jeff Lawrence_25

Well,

What's it worth? One person's comfort is another person's extragravant folly. What price is your comfort?

I recently gave a bid to a customer that other people would have thought was way too much. He thought the price was good, because he saw the long term value and the comfort.



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Steamhead (in transit)

Go for it

Greater comfort at a given temperature, which hot-water will offer, means better efficiency since you won't need to turn the thermostat up so high to be warm.

And since you're not blowing the air around, you won't feel cooler from that source. Plus, ducted heat can pressurize or depressurize parts of the house which will add to infiltration.

If you design the system so it will run at lower water temperatures, you can use a condensing boiler which runs more efficiently.

Do it. You can't lose.

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Bill Nye_2

Is it worth it?

Is it worth it? Are you worth it? Of course you are. Do you live in a cold climate? Do you spend much time in your home during the winter months?

Some people put in swimming pools, some people like home theaters. Do you need 'em ?, probably not. Can you enjoy them? Yes.

If a warm comfortable home would make you happy then just do it. Every one these days wants a "return on invest" and they are worried about "payback periods", forget it.

It is the comfort that counts, if you want to call it a luxury then so be it. People in this country spend plenty of money on things that don't last. Vacations, nights on the town, etc. If you put your money into a comfort system you can enjoy it as long as you live in your home. Even when you sleep. You can only enjoy the pool in the summer, the vacation when you are on it, the home theater when you are awake.

Buy the radiator and while you are at it get a good boiler and make sure you get outdoor reset and an indirect water heater so you can enjoy plenty of hot water.

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Darin_3

Do you ever want A/C?

For the amount you spend on an entire baseboard install you will have paid for 2 or 3 top of the line furnace changeouts with A/C. I'll bet you could find a good contractor that would put in a 2 Stage furnace with ICM motors and a humidifier that could blend temperatures and humidify the air resulting in more comfort(did I mention you could get A/C?:)

Steamhead (in transit)

The ductwork

could still be used for A/C-only if desired. And, A/C air handlers don't have heat exchangers that fail like furnaces do, we all know what that leads to.....

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Bill Nye_2

C'mon Darin

Darin, how are you going to dry your wet boots and mittens? Staple them to the ceiling register? Didn't your mother or grandparents have a castiron radiator in the hallway when you were a kid? I guess you can't know what you are missing if you never had it.

I throw my wet snow covered Carharts right on the radiant tile floor in the mudroom and they are toasty warm and dry the next morning. I stand my boots next to the radiant baseboard heat [constant circulation too] and they too are dry in the morning. Whattayagonnadu ? Staple yer boots to the ceiling too?

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Constantin

More importantly,

I have yet to see an air-based A/C and heating system that works just as well in the summer as the winter. Usually, installers have to make compromises... which start with simple things like the locations of registers, returns, and the diffusors.

The only AC system I presume could come close in comfort to a radiant heating system is a radiant cooling system, a.k.a. the likes KaRo. But even the KaRo system needs some air-moving assistance to get the latent heat out of the air.

Another negative WRT to multiple-speed furnaces is that allegedly their combustion efficiency suffers as the heating output is lowered. Is that your experience also? I recently read the post from someone who worked on a 2-speed condensing furnace and noted the much lower efficiency at low speed via a combustion analyzer. Given what we know about the % of the year that systems need to run at full output...

I totally agree with you though that the coils that are used in hydro-air units not only last longer but that they also potentially allow much finer air temperature control inside the house without the puffs of hot air as a older-style furnace comes on. Plus, even if the coil fails, chances are that the people inside the home will suffer (at worst) a cold night, rather than a last night.

brucewo1b

Is it worth it ??


I don't know whether it is worth it for you, but I know I'm not driving a 1949 Chevy thinking that I am getting the greatest of comfort or economy in 2005, And I think that if I am living in the north country then my heat system is just as important to me as my car and even at that if the car dies I can rent one in a hurry. Good luck

Mike T., Swampeast MO

If you happen to live in an area where salvage cast iron radiators are easily and inexpensively available and you can deal with their physical presence, you'll LOVE the heat they can provide. Sized and controlled properly you'll get "near radiant" comfort levels and EXCEPTIONAL efficiency.

Jim_55

Two years ago I converted from forced hot air to hot water baseboard heat and I would never go back to FHA. My house (built in 1949)was uncomfortable and dry. My children got sick more often and all of us woke up with a dry throat. We got 4 zones with the Burnham cast iron radiators. We saved a whole bunch of money and we didnt switch to Gieco(haha). The cast iron rads do make a differance in comfort and you should get them. You will not be disappointed with the extra cost. The existing ductwork you have now is useless. It probably has a lot of dirt/filth accumulated since 1949 and it is not sealed correctly for A/C usage. The comfort of our house with the hot water system is unbeatable. Jim