Heat Pump or Boiler?

I have a 2 family 1920s brick building with 1 forced air gas furnace for the whole building. I can’t afford to install new boilers and a mini split system just for A/C, beside it doesn’t make sense to take up space with radiators AND wall mounted units. I’m giving myself analysis paralysis! I’ve read argument for and against heat pumps. Can anybody share their experiences with ductless split systems, particularly with heating a house when winter hits Brooklyn?

fortGreene

in Heating and Cooling 11 years and 8 months ago

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brucef | 11 years and 8 months ago

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I can ease your paralysis. Stick with hot water heat, preferably plumbed into zones. It is comfortable, efficient, a real no-brainer. At today’s gas prices, it makes no sense to annoy a tenant and wait many years to recoup the expense of separate boilers. Make the other unit a separate zone, so you can replumb in the cellar in the future. Heat pump units never fail to under-perform. I personally have shown clients that the air coming out of the heat pump is warm, but it’s not warm like air off a radiator. They will increase the temp 15-20 degrees above the ambient, but it doesn’t feel warm. Eventually it will warm a room, but stick with hot water.

ellenlourie | 11 years and 8 months ago

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Do not go with separate boilers and water heaters for each apartment. The cost of doing each of them right will be same, if not more then whole system for the house. Also from technical point of view there are few hidden issues and unless you have very experienced installer you will regret this decision.

fortGreene | 11 years and 8 months ago

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Thank you for the reply and advice resident2\. Its nice to hear from somebody who has gone through all the various options. You are correct, I’m not gutting the whole building and don’t have the equivalent budget. I will look into the cast iron radiators thanks

resident2 | 11 years and 8 months ago

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Trying to retrofit an older building for a heat pump system is virtually impossible, unless you are gutting the whole building and you have a very detailed engineering plan. It sounds like that is not in the budget you are working with? For efficiency and low on-going maintenance costs I would go with circulating hot water heat systems with separate zones. The small cast iron radiators take up less space than the baseboard radiators and stand up to being knocked etc. over time and strategically placed, take up very little space. Heat pump units take up quite a bit of space. As for air conditioning; I would go with either a few strategically placed window air conditioners, the newer models are less noisy come with timed thermostats and again take up less space than the split systems and are obviously much less cost to install and purchase. Or if your budget allows, go with conventional central air conditioning systems, put your air handlers on the roof, out of site and in older buildings there is always a chase somewhere to bring pipes down, hopefully in the center of the building that can then go front & back into each of the main rooms. Over the years I have moved and rebuilt four houses (Brownstones) I have done central air, split systems and window air conditioners. I am about to redo probably my last house. I will go with the new window air conditioners; it saves on all the construction costs of either of the other systems, but more importantly it is easier to control the running costs as well as the maintenance costs. And the boilers for heating; as I said above separate heat and hot water units for each apartment, so that your tenants can be as comfortable as they want be and they pay for it, that are circulating hot water cast iron radiators. Yes, cast Iron radiators cost a bit more, but in the long run they are worth it. Good luck.