Should I convert from oil furnace heat to baseboard heat?

Question

So I have a two-story house, with an oil furnace that takes up a lot of sqft, I am considering having baseboard heat installed. I am wondering if it makes sense do this? I have separate renters upstairs and downstairs. It is not technically a duplex. I also would install locked thermostats if I did baseboards. What do you all think, is it worth it? I am paying about $700 for a tank of oil on average 3.5 times a year plus maintenance cost for the furnace this year is at $350.

Account Closed · Answer

Years ago I retrofitted baseboard into a two story 100 year old house in Columbia City (Seattle) and it was quite a chore getting wiring where I needed it to be be. The first thing to do is get a couple of quotes and see if it's feasible. That being said, the baseboards were nice because you can control heat for each room. You do need to be a bit concerned about drapes falling into the heaters and potential fire hazard. It isn't  a big deal, but you need to think about placement and potential fire. Most recommendations are for installation under the window for what it's worth. Anyway, at the time electricity was cheap so it made a lot of sense. I don't know electricty/oil cost comparisons for the area at this point, though.

Lynnette E. · Answer

I would not put baseboard heat into a rental.  The fire hazard is too high for me.  I would look into a mini split.  They are pretty energy efficient and one unit can serve 4 rooms.  You could get a unit for each floor.

Mark J. · Answer

@Devin Cutler curious what you ended up doing?

I'm in the same situation now, weighing pros and cons of switching to gas or electric.  Economically electric wins hands down for me, but know gas would be better quality/efficient.

Mike McCarthy · Answer

Check out your competition. Electric heat can get quite expensive, in the northeast it’s by FAR the most expensive way to heat a house. But if other rentals in the area do it, you probably can too.

You’ll have to also see if your panel and electro service can support it. You might have to figure in an upgrade as well.

I would also look into mini-split units. Higher up-front cost, but they are very energy efficient and can provide AC as well (if it would be a plus there).

Brian Hughes · Answer

While the city of seattle is making noise about disallowing it,   your best bet if a minisplit or heat pump system won't work is probably a high efficiency gas furnace.     It should bolt in in place of where the existing oil furnace is,   reuse the ducting,   and "only" require a gas line from the street.  How expensive that is will depend on your location, type of street, slope, sidewalks, etc.

But I would really push for the heat pump system if it can work.   However if the house is outdated in other aspects,   like it still has single pane glass,   R-notverymuch insulation in the attic, etc.  you may need to make other upgrades before an electric-only modern heat pump will have enough oomph to keep up.

Don't know how big your house is,   but my 1968 2300sf daylight basement rambler,  with R-8 in the walls,  R-11 in the attic, and single pane windows (most without any window coverings) and an 80% efficient gas furnace I'm running about $100/month using about 3 therms a day in the winter on gas heat. (I heat to 66F)    I'm doing window upgrades next summer,  and after some ceiling drywall repairs I'll be updating the attic insulation to R-30+.    I don't plan on trying to improve the wall insulation unless I have to gut an area.

Alex Furini · Answer

@Devin Cutler, Many of these retrofit HVAC situations revolve around utility costs in your particular locale. That being said, I have rarely heard of a situation where oil heat is cheaper. If you are referring to electric baseboard heating rather than Hydronic baseboard heating, then my first inclination is to say that electric heat can be quite expensive as is the case in NYC. On the opposite side, if you can do solar, then it can be quite cheap. A happy medium would be to install the mini splits @Lynnette E. mentioned. These are AC/Heat electric powered exterior condensers with interior wall units. They can be very energy efficient and also an easier install for retrofits. Feel free to reach out if you have additional questions.

Best of luck,

Alex Furini, RA

Devin Cutler · Answer

The tank is above ground.

Matt J. · Answer

@Devin Cutler Is the oil tank above or below ground?

Should I convert from oil furnace heat to baseboard heat?

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