Baseboard boiler vs. Central air vs. Ductless Split
I’ve been seeing some townhouse remodel jobs, and many, if fact the majority, have been using 60’s style baseboard boiler heating. I can understand that central air takes up lots of space with its ducts, am I’m kind of surprised that ductless split heating systems have not caught on. Are they that much more expensive? What are the installation/equip cost differences between these 3 HVAC types (for a hypothetical 2 story home) ? Are the contractors just using baseboard boilers because they are cheaper? Is it difficult to convert over to Ductless once sheetrock goes up? I’m trying to price compare homes with ductless vs. baseboard (cost difference), and see how reasonable it is to convert over to ductless split.

Guest User | 6 years and 10 months ago
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eman134 | 6 years and 10 months ago
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chemosphere…it is a pretty standard job to run a hydronic zone in the basement off of a steam boiler…exactly the same as running an indirect hot water heater off of a steam boiler. You have to mix down the boiler water to 160 -180 degrees… Any decent heat tech can do this. If you need more info contact me at errol832000@hotmail,com

chemosphere | 6 years and 10 months ago
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No coal chute but I have to redo the doors in front and back which i’m hoping is going to keep the heat in.

yudashasom | 6 years and 10 months ago
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@chemosphere, your cellar should heat up enough with the steam pipes all over. If not, then installing another system is not your solution. Find a way to keep the heat in during the window, but let it breathe in the summer. Do you have a coal chute with a door at the bottom?

chemosphere | 6 years and 10 months ago
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Wondering if baseboards would be an option for a basement in a house that has steam radiators. I’m assuming you can’t put steam radiators in the basement becuase they have to be pitched above the boiler? The risers heat the basement to about 65F but I’m thinking that baseboards would give that extra push.

CarmenR | 6 years and 10 months ago
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We have the same system as namahs sounds like- split ductless AC (that also has heat if we need it) and a combo of baseboard and radiator hydronic gas-fired heating. We’ve gone through two winters and have almost never used the mini splits for heat and the gas/electric bill is super low ….and we are WARM! We use the splits for AC in the summer and the electric bill for our 2600 sqft house is less than our former 800 sqft 1br with central AC. Very happy with the choice (and our baseboard heaters seem to work just fine.)

resident2 | 6 years and 10 months ago
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Hot air heat of any kind is very bad for your respiratory system, antiques and art work. Mini splits are often mounted high on walls and what does heat do? Rise, so you then need something to push the air down if you do not want cold feet.
The best heating system is cast iron baseboard radiators or the old fashioned stand up radiators with a circulating hot water system. Not the cheapest to install, but by far the most efficient and comfortable to live with.

yudashasom | 6 years and 10 months ago
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I’m a fan of ducted splits. They are highly efficient in terms of having separate zones. You don’t need to heat or cool the entire apartment/house. It’s quiet and very low maintenance. Eliminating gas where you can is the way to go these days.

randolph | 6 years and 10 months ago
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> @daveinbedstuy
> mini splits are terribly inefficient to use to heat especially anywhere north of the Mason Dixon line
not true. dibs had never had a mini split system in any home he lived in, ignore him.
?

namahs | 6 years and 10 months ago
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We had slantfin baseboard, ductless AC with heat pump and also cast iron radiator. I’m not really sure if I think the ductless AC with heat pump will be sufficient even with the current models that can handle below freezing. Also note that the I personally do not prefer the feeling of hot air blowing directly at my face. I think the ductless units will be a good supplement to your heating system but not just as primary.
We just had recess cast iron radiator from governale..cant really tell you how it is yet since this will be our first winter season with them. Our previous cast iron radiator was great, compared to baseboard..it held the temp for a longer time when the heating is turned off. I would personally go with cast iron radiator for heating.

slopefarm | 6 years and 10 months ago
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Yeah, what eman said. I don’t see the point in replacing old fashioned boiler heat just to slap in some cheap baseboards. We kept our boiler/radiator steam system when we renovated and I am really glad we did. We added UNICO mini-duct high velocity AC, which we have somewhat mixed feelings about, but it works and there are minimal soffets.

Guest User | 6 years and 10 months ago
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Daveinbedstuy, you’re saying baseboard is the best? Are you referring to the slantfin baseline 2000 type? Eman134, can you heat an entire home with runtal? I’ve seen them installed in bathrooms, but nothing on a large scale. I would prefer cast iron radiators, but are they even being manufactured today? And if so, do cast iron radiators use a totally different boiler system than baseboards, or can the boiler be used for both types?

daveinbedstuy | 6 years and 10 months ago
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And, if you want AC, consider a high velocity mini duct UNICO system over the ductless. You need to look for a UNICO certified installer though. Not just anyone who says he can do it.

daveinbedstuy | 6 years and 10 months ago
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What eman said. I’ve owned a lot of homes and baseoard is the best. Don’t ever think about using the “invisible, slim design” type baseboard that looks like 1″ x 6″ baseboard molding either. They are terribly inefficient. And mini splits are terribly inefficient to use to heat especially anywhere north of the Mason Dixon line!

eman134 | 6 years and 10 months ago
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the only people who install low end baseboard such as slantfin baseline 2000 are flippers who are trying to cheap out on every cost…Cheap ductless minisplits suck at heating a minimally insulated renovation. I have heard that the mitsubishi citimulti which is way more expensive works in our zone if you hyperinsulate. Being a heating contractor I lean toward boiler heat with traditional cast iron, radiant or runtal or buderus baseboard. These cost way more than builder grade merchandise that you are seeing