Kitchen remodel -- should I add a hot water zone?

Steve_104

My house is currently heated via a steam system and a warm air system (it's an old Victorian, obviously the two systems were added over time to replace an old coal-fired system). I'm about to undertake a remodel of the kitchen area, which currently is the most distant end of the steam system. It's always the last to heat up, and on the coldest mornings I have to run the stove to warm the room up. I'm thinking of converting this kitchen area, which is now heated by steam, to a hot water zone by adding a boiler and piping the radiators for hot water. Does this make sense to you? It seems to me that I might actually save money because the steam boiler won't have to work as hard to heat that end of the house, and will have adequately heated the other portions of the house.

kevin coppinger_4

well you could....

but I would see if you could fix the steam system to better heat the kitchen...how well is the room and windows insulated? how is the venting? Is the main insulated? etc....could save money that way.kpc

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Mike T., Swampeast MO

Do you perchance have room for a larger radiator in the kitchen?

In old homes the kitchen radiator was almost always undersized because there used to be a big, iron cookstove in the room. That cookstove gave off lots of heat to the room and was often the first thing fired on cold mornings.

During the summer in warm climates the cookstove was rarely fired--typically one day for a week's worth of baking or canning. Daily cooking was done in the "summer kitchen" (back porch) on a small kerosene or similar fuel stove.

Joe Brix

Kinda crazy to have

a steam boiler, hot water boiler and a furnace! Maybe add a hot water loop off your steam boiler. If your furnace is old, what about a hydroair system. The hot water boiler would replace the furnace with an air handler with a hot water coil inside to make warm air. Then you could run rads baseboard or better yet: radiant flooring. Since you're remodeling the kitchen anyway, wouldn't warm floors in the kitchen be the best!