Have you ever? Converted to gas heat?

[stellarose]

We have base board heating in our home....I wasn't a fan before the purchase and certainly am not a fan now that we are moved in during the coldest part of the year. I am freezing! We have two companies coming for estimates next week. I know it will be 5-10K or possibly more. Just curious if anyone has had it done.

With base board heating you don't have any existing duct work. I guess we will see, but all I can do is dream about it right now!

[auntie]

If you don't have ductwork, $5-10K could be kind of low. We just replaced our HVAC unit last summer. We have existing ducts and the work unit/installation was close to $7K for a 2000 sq ft house. And it wasn't a top of the line or hybrid model.

[wawa]

What are you converting from? Are your baseboards electric?

[bunnymendelbaum]

I hate our baseboard units themselves, but I LOVE radiant hydronic (hot water) heat. Forced air drives me nuts.
Are your baseboards electric or hot water (gas)? Might be more cost effective to get a new gas unit instead of installing a whole new forced air system.

[FoxInFiji]

Ditto wawa and bunny. Try converting to a ultra efficient condensing gas boiler instead of forking up the cost of going to forced air unless you're looking for central air conditioning as well. If you're going to add in forced air it's going to be heck of a lot more than $5-10K depending on your homes layout, which closets you're willing to loose to make chases to the second floor (if you have one), and if your basement has an open ceiling or not.

At my co-op with a mechanical contractor I helped convert a house from the early 1800's to forced air. It was only a 1500sf house but in a prime location. Our bill was around $17K.

[stellarose]

Hmm, never heard of radiant hot water heat. I'll look into the other options as well. We just have electric base board heaters now and it is super expensive and not very warm in my opinion. The electric company suggested shutting off our breakers during the day!

[barefootcontessa]

We replaced baseboard but also wanted a/c. It was part of a whole house remodel and addition. It was around $17k.

[bunnymendelbaum]

Electric baseboard is the worst. I had it in an apartment in Hoboken and I was always freezing! I literally slept with a hat on! If I turned it high enough to stay warm it was $$$.

The apartment was tiny & surrounded by others on both sides, top and bottom and still freezing!

[treedimensional]

We switched from oil to gas about 3 years ago. We have no ductwork, we have pipes. The furnace heats water, and it circulates via pipes into radiators (not baseboards). The only real difference in our system is the furnace. Above basement level, nothing changed except the new wall thermostat. Our house is about 1300 sq ft. It cost about $8000 and we live in the midatlantic.