Heat pumps in one apartment within a brownstone?

Hi, all. We are in the process of converting our parlor-level floorthrough apt from a 2br, 1ba to a 3br, 1.5ba (crazy, I know, but we found a configuration that seems to meet all the DOB requirements). Our architect is suggesting that we take this opportunity to convert to heat pumps for our floor. The building otherwise has a standard hot water heating system.
I have vague plans to go all-electric for the building in 5-10 years, assuming that the boiler, installed in 2007, might start nearing the end of its natural life and that clean heat technology will have improved and potentially gotten cheaper by then.
Do you guys think it makes sense to do it piecemeal, starting with our apartment, since we’ll already be doing a lot of internal demo to it now, or does it make more sense to wait and do the whole building? If we do our apartment only, we’ll still need to be sending heat up to the top floors and the ground floor apartment – would taking our apartment offline result in needing substantially less gas to heat the rest of the building?
Thanks!

NewOwner

in General Discussion 3 years ago

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JohnHancock | 3 years ago

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I’m assuming your boiler installed in 07 will last for decades to come….waterheaters not so much but boilers well maintained last forever

NewOwner | 3 years ago

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Thanks! I’m actually ok on the question of heat pumps vs no heat pumps broadly speaking – we have a place Upstate with new heat pumps and the home did pretty well in the winter!

irfan | 3 years ago

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If you haven’t done a gut with new windows and reinsulated, the heat pumps may not be enough in the winter. There are lots of discussions on this point if you search the forum.

irfan | 3 years ago

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If you haven’t done a gut with new windows and reinsulated, the heat pumps may not be enough in the winter. There are lots of discussions on this point if you search the forum.

NewOwner | 3 years ago

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Related, has anyone in this forum done heat pumps on historic buildings? I assume that any systems visible at the front of the home are verboten – where would the pumps/condensers be located – all on the roof?