Replacing Baseboard Heat
I’ve got a weekend house that I’m working on. The place was originally seasonal, but hot water baseboard heat was added at some point. The system was well done with nice copper wiring, etc. But I hate baseboard heat. Hate. It. Can I convert to anything at all without completely starting over? If I keep…
I’ve got a weekend house that I’m working on. The place was originally seasonal, but hot water baseboard heat was added at some point. The system was well done with nice copper wiring, etc. But I hate baseboard heat. Hate. It. Can I convert to anything at all without completely starting over?
If I keep the system, I have to replace the baseboard units themselves. I guess I’d buy those euro-looking slimline units. But still, they run the entire length of a wall in every room. Is there nothing better?
It was seasonal when it was built 70 years ago. The whole community was mostly seasonal in those days. We’ll be there most weekends all year round. I imagine keeping the heat low during the week and then turning it up on weekends, like people do. Hopefully using a smart system of some kind.
Let’s hope I don’t have too many power outages — that sounds like a hassle.
Why would you want to keep a hot water system in a seasonal house? Are you there enough to make it worth while keeping the heat running constantly to prevent freezing. I had a place in Ulster co. that had hot water radiators. I kept the thermostat low during the week and had a Radio Shack alarm that would tell me when the power failed (once a month), Can’t tell you how many times that stupid machine would call me in the middle of the night on the coldest day of the year which led to a mad rush to Saugerties before the house froze up.
I think — and i may be wrong — that the supply comes up on one side of the room, then you have the run of the baseboard, and the return is on the other side of the room. I have to buy a new boiler (or something) anyway so if I have to rerun the pipes too, I’d rather just fresh with something I like. Like radiant. But I don’t know what I’m talking about here.
The house is basically a one floor 30×45 cabin. It’s built into a hill so it’s also got half a basement. Because it was a seasonal place originally, there is very little insulation at the moment. You can see the floorboards above when standing in the basement.
Are you saying you’d have too much pipe exposed if you just went with another type of radiator? There’s really no alternative besides covering the pipe or rerouting it into the wall. How big is the house? Can you just eliminate one side (the supply or return) and add another alongside the remaining riser?
DIBS, I’ve seen those baseboard things on the web, not IRL. Do they look like baseboards?
Master, I have one line coming up on one side of the room and then returning 12 feet away in another side of the room. This is the only thing that stops me from putting radiators in. Is there an easy work-around?
Your baseboard radiators can be replaced with any hydronic heat emitter.
Ringo, I installed something similar to the slimline in a house. it looks like a 5 1/2″ plain baseboard and I capped it with the traditinal baseboard cap. it looks far better than typical baseboard heating BUT it is far less efficient.