Options To Use With Existing Hydronic Baseboard Heat

[Bk1]

I just moved to a place that has some land with it. The house has an oil LP boiler system to feed the hydronic baseboard heating system.

I'm trying to figure out what my options are for at least supplementing with wood heat. I'm very new to all this so I have a lot to learn. I had seen a fair amount of outdoor wood boilers within a 1hr radius from my house so I thought those were worth looking into. My biggest issue there is that it seems like you are committed to having that thing burning the whole winter. I am hoping to find a solution where I can use it as I am able to supplement with wood heat but not have to keep it fed 24x7.

Is there a indoor wood burning boiler system that I can tie into my existing LP boiler system? Even if that is the case I need to figure out if I can find a good spot inside to fit it, determine if my existing chimney can also be used for it etc.

If those two solutions aren't a good fit then I guess my only choice is at least one fireplace/wood stove. I am still trying to figure out a good central place to put it though that makes logistical sense. I will probably end up getting one for a four seasons room that we have an possibly for the basement family room that we are looking to put in. But, if there is no good option to tie in to our existing hydronic system then I will have to figure out a good place on the main level for one.

Thanks for the help!

 

[velvetfoot]

Boiler options are wicked expensive and take up room in the basement, especially if you store fuel down there and install, say, a 1000 gallons of hot water storage. A walk out basement would help with the wood. If you can get over that, then sure. The LP boiler would take over when the storage tank is depleted. You'd only have to add wood maybe once a day, I THINK.

I think I'd go for one on the main level since you're on that level a lot. Maybe not the basement. Could put in another zone for LP in the basement and just heat it when someone is down there. Sometimes wood stoves in basement don't draft right, and you'd be fiddling with that as well. Remodeling might be a while into the future?

A friend of mine put a mini split heat pump in their four season (insulated) room. It cools most of the first floor as well, supposedly. They can close the doors to it if they want to as well.

 

[maple1]

I think I see one question there, and my answer is yes.

 

[Bk1]

It is a walk out basement. I didn't realize you had to have a storage tank for the hot water. I figured it would be hooked into the existing boiler and it doesn't have a tank just the water within the closed loop system. So, I would definitely have to figure out something for room as the existing mechanical room would not fit both new pieces of equipment. Any ballpark estimates what a indoor boiler with a 1000 gallon tank would cost before installation? Any recommendations on a manufacturer where I could read more about how they work etc?

I am thinking also that one on our main level would be nice. The tricky thing is the 3 places I mentioned wanting extra heat are all separated from each other. We have a walk out basement level. So, that's where the family room we will be remodeling will go. Then, the main level is actually up some flights of steps if you enter from the front of our house, but not from the back. Then, our four seasons room is on the lower level but build onto the opposite side of the house from where the basement family room is. So, I don't know about having 3 separate wood stoves. That is part of what appealed to me about having the central wood boiler and then just having baseboard radiators installed where there isn't one already.

Are you saying mini split systems can heat also? We started looking into them for cooling but I thought that was all they could do. Is the same system able to heat and cool? Might be a good fit for our four seasons room but I guess I kind of liked the idea of a fire going in that room. It's a nice room and a fire place would be a nice touch. Plus, then I can use the wood from our property instead of paying for electric. There are actually baseboard electric heaters in the four seasons room now.

 

[velvetfoot]

I didn't realize you had to have a storage tank for the hot water.

I guess you don't have to, but it is desireable.

Are you saying mini split systems can heat also?

Yes. They can be heat pumps.They say here the Mitsuibishi Hyper Heat is pretty good in cool temperatures. If you're going to do a mini split A/C, I wouldn't see why you wouldn't do a heat pump, except it's more money, of course.

Any ballpark estimates what a indoor boiler with a 1000 gallon tank would cost before installation?

I'm sure others will chime in, but 10-15k???

Any recommendations on a manufacturer where I could read more about how they work etc?

Froling is probably the best and most expensive: (broken link removed to http://woodboilers.com/froling-fhg-20-30.html)

Don't forget when you're sprinkling your house with wood stoves the practical aspect that they all need to be vented. There could be various factors that come into play, like, "how the heck will I get that 4 season room chimney to clear the main roof plus 3'?" I'm not say that particular thing would be a factor, just as an example. At some point maybe you could get a pro of some sort to give you ideas of what is and what is not possible or desirable.

From what I understand, outdoor wood boilers use a huge amount of wood, in part because of energy loss through the underground pipes and the enclosure, whereas an indoor boiler loses its heat to the house.

I'm sure other people with wood boilers will chime in too.

 

[Bad LP]

The new mini splits are pretty good at heating and cooling. Figure 4000 each. An indoor gasification boiler with storage is 13K plus install if you want a ball park number to think about. I've heard lower numbers tossed around but I believe you get what you pay for.
The splits lose efficiency the colder it gets and you only listed the USA as a base location. That's a big area. What the splits and the new heat pump technology does allow is to use them in the shoulder seasons as well as cool all summer. In my case I have a central AC system with no heat source currently. I have to options of adding a hot water coil or changing out the condenser for my shoulder season needs. I have nearly a full house of RFH that wasn't cheap. I like the warm floors in the winter and that remains very important to me.

Fact is there is not one perfect cure all answer. Energy costs vary around the country as well as year to year.

 

[maple1]

You have all kinds of choices, you will need to factor in personal preferences & priorities among other things which we don't know about. We also don't know your heating load, or where you are located, or a need/want for cooling.

If all-round comfort when it is very cold out is the main consideration, it doesn't get much more comfortable than central heating with a boiler. But there is no right answer.

You can check out what I did in the thread linked in my sig. Boiler + storage + backup electric boiler + new hot water heater + all the odds & ends to hook everything up (that was way more than I was expecting) was around $15k CDN. About $2k of that was due to living across the USA border from where I bought the boiler & boiler accessories. I installed myself. Having a walkout basement is huge, and boiler + storage doesn't need to take a big footprint. My storage footprint is no more than 4' wide x 10' long, not counting a bit of room at one end for plumbing space.

But after all that, a mini-split is also on my horizon for some summer cooling & shoulder and backup heating. A fellow was just telling me an hour ago he's checking them out too & Daikin is supposed to have units just out that are a step ahead of the others in the efficiency game - so that tech seems to constantly be improving.

An OWB would be down there a ways on my short list. Might not even make a short list.

 

[Clarkbug]

I would look at a boiler like the Tarm Solo. You can connect it into your existing system, and with some aquastats have it run when you want, and LP can do the rest when you don't want to feed it. You don't need storage ( but it will help efficiency )

Mini splits are nice for serving select areas that you want to heat and cool. If I ever build a place of my own I would put them in, and backup with a wood stove I think.