What are the most well-established US manufacturers of residential electric boilers

mrblint · May 8

I want to look into replacing our oil-burning boiler with an electric one, even though the oil-boiler + indirect hot water that we have is modern and efficient and our house is comfortable in the winter. The oil company thinks the tank is "just too old" (at least 45 years old but exact age unknown) and they want $$$$ to remove and replace it. They said it wouldn't have to be cut apart but would fit through the doorways and out the basement door.

They didn't do an ultrasound inspection of the tank, and I'm looking into that today.

I've read it costs more to heat with electric, and we'd probably need a panel upgrade as well, but I'm still wondering if that $$$$ could be better spent.

LIMITING FACTORS: All the rooms are heated by convector-type radiators with fins, supplied by black-iron pipe from the basement. The limited ducting in our 1940s-era house was installed by the former owners for a central A/C retrofit. The ducts were run from the attic down through bedroom closets, and they don't go to any of the bathrooms. So a heat-pump that uses the existing ducting is not an option. We don't have gas service from the utility company, and they wanted $50K to bring it up the street to my house when I inquired about it.

Robert_25 · May 8

Argo, Axeman Anderson, and Electric Furnace Man have been making electric boilers for a long time. With that said, unless you have exceptionally low electric rates in your area, sticking with oil is most certainly the least expensive option. I would call at least one other oil supplier for another quote on the tank replacement. Retrofitting a propane burner on your existing boiler may also be an option worth considering, assuming propane pricing is competitive in your area.

If you know how much oil you burn in an average winter and what your local electric rates are, we can estimate how much it would cost to heat with resistance electric.

pecmsg · May 8

If going all electric just put electric baseboards in each room!

At least you'll be able to control each room separately.

ratio · May 8

Please edit the pricing out of your post above.

Remember that the cost of the replacement is a one-time cost, the electric bill is a gift that keeps on giving…to the power company. Compare the cost of heating with electricity vs oil to see how much your costs will increase before you pull the trigger.

hot_rod · May 8

if you can find a good hydronics person, I would do a complete assessment of the system.

A heat loss, blower door and infrared scan. If you go electric, an air to water hydronic heat pump might be an option.

Have any upgrades been done to the home? Insulation, windows, weatherstrip upgrades. Do that first to lower the heat load. Then look at the system requirements.

Jamie Hall · May 8

A comment relating to @pecmsg 's comment on electric baseboards… um, yeah, but electric baseboards cost just as much to run as an electric boiler, and the wiring would be a nightmare.

Now on the electric boiler. Do do your sums carefully. In some areas an electric boiler might be competitive in running cost. In most of the northeast, no way. In Connecticut at least it will be triple what oil would cost.

And on electric upgrades. You will almost certainly need a panel upgrade, and very likely the entire drop from the power line, main entrance, main breakers and panel. That is not going to come cheap.

mrblint · May 8

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1854961#Comment_1854961

Thank you. We bought 600 gallons of oil in 2024. We pay $0.1784 KWH.

mrblint · May 8

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1854989#Comment_1854989

Sorry, that should be $0.1784

hot_rod · May 8

go heat yo compare fuel cost

Use electricity at 100%
oil at 80%
https://coalpail.com/fuel-comparison-calculator-home-heating

mrblint · May 8

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1854980#Comment_1854980

There was attic insulation added by former owners but that's about it. I will have to do some research on air to water hydronic heat pumps.

hot_rod · May 8

I feel the structure should always be the first part of the decision. Often spending money on upgrades of an older in-efficient building is the best money spent.

I think the challenge is finding the person or company willing to do the leg work to get a good design that fits you needs, and budget.

So expect to pay someone for that assessment and design, or go through the steps yourself, if you are up for the number crunching, and research time?

The systems that fail are the ones that someone throws in a replacement piece of equipment that in not compatible with your home, utility costs, etc, etc. Everything is expensive now, so you what to do it right. The first time :)

I don't know if an A2WHP is a good fit until you do some data collecting. But here is a primer on the technology. Other issues get more into the nuts and bolts of retro-fit options.

Once you have a decision on the type of system look at this site for rebate and incentives.

www.dsireusa.org

https://www.caleffi.com/sites/default/files/media/external-file/Idronics_27_NA_Air-to-water%20heat%20pump%20systems.pdf

hot_rod · May 8

This issue has ideas and calculations for operating high temperature legacy systems at lower temperatures. To allow for condensing boilers or heat pumps.

https://www.caleffi.com/sites/default/files/media/external-file/Idronics_25_NA_Lowering%20water%20temperature%20in%20existing%20hydronic%20heating%20systems.pdf

EBEBRATT-Ed · May 8

Unless your electric rates are very cheap oil is a better option. Your opening up a whole can of worms changing systems. Your already said the home heats well and is comfortable.

Your chucking equipment that works and heats the house well and you only use 600 gallons a year!!!!!

You don't realize how good you have it.

If the tank is not leaking tell the oil co to pound sand. Tell them you may switch to electric there attitude may change.

Get some quotes on tank replacements and then save to get it replaced. When you do replace it time your oil deliveries so they can replace the tank when you are down to 1/4 full.

Kaos · May 9

Your 600 gallons burned in a 75% boiler is about 660 therms of heat.

That works out to $3200 with resistance heat and about 1/3 of that so about $1000 with a heat pump.

Your load is pretty low, around 30000btu, so well within the range of cold climate heat pumps. It is also low enough that a 100A service will still work as long as you don't have an EV.

Smart money is to replace the AC unit with a heat pump and replace the boiler with a small resistance boiler (say 7kW) to supplement the heat pump and even out the temps where you don't have ducting.

You could go all resistance boiler and no heat pump, but the operating cost will be pretty high. This option would make sense if you are doing some major winterization effort that would reduce your load by about 1/2. Possible but not cheap.

What are the most well-established US manufacturers of residential electric boilers

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