Baseboard heat with a crawl space; insulation req'd?

Brian_48

my home is small, only about 800sf on the ground floor. I am looking to change the heating system over to baseboard heat but I'm curious what I'll need to do to the crawl space for the change. FYI, I live in Michigan and it does get below freezing Nov -> Feb.. First question, generally speaking, should I even put the boiler in the crawl? It would be a compact boiler (like a Munchkin) and I've got about 3' of clearance down there with a sand floor. Some (not h/c trained) people have told me to put it in the attic, but then I dread running copper all the way down into the crawl and then through the floors.

Second question, do I have freezing issues in having a boiler? If yes, how should I properly insulate the crawl? ...Foundation walls are cinder block. Thanks for your input!