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Those covers are interesting. Do they affect the efficiency?
You have large exposed radiators? I thought you meant floor grates when you said registers. as someone who loves old houses, I will automatically move on if a house for sale states they've removed the cast iron radiators in favor of baseboards.
Some enclosures, if built correctly, will actually help with the heat in the room by directing it outwards instead of allowing it to go to the wall sides. I've never had the chance to try them in my own house, but I remeber my grandparents having a couple.
OP, you've called them registers and baseboards and now radiators. Those are 3 different things.
Registers are used in forced hot air systems; at my last house (which I own but still rent out) they are in the ceiling. I know that heat rises, but they actually worked fine. My current house has heat registers but at floor level (a couple are actually on the floor). I've seen them in other houses in the walls, so clearly placement varies. They are typically fairly small and unobtrusive (which is why I like them).
Here's an example of a floor register:
Radiators are found in many older homes. They look like this (or similar):
And baseboards are very different. They are VERY common in New England houses ... I personally HATE them because they take up so much wall space (in some rooms, 2-3 walls will be entirely taken up with them), and they are hideous ...
So which does the house have?
Also, is the basement finished space? I can't figure out why you'd need heating/cooling down there (then again, I use my basement mostly just for storage/utilities and a small workshop, and its temperature has never been extreme).
If you'd have to replace the oil furnace soon, I would definitely go with gas instead. No natural gas where I live, alas, so I don't know how prices vary oil/gas.
Are you planning on staying in this house home term?
I'd convert to gas if you have a pipe nearby that can be tapped into. If the gas company needs to run a main, I think i'd stick with oil unless the cost of running that new main is cheap or can be split with neighbors.
And yes, you can leave the forced hot water baseboards in place and use the system with a gas furnace. These furnaces are a little more expensive than forced hot air, but around what you'd pay for oil anyway.
@OP, stick with the baseboard. The reason most homes have ducted heat is because it's lot cheaper to install. The boiler itself is more as is the baseboard.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hairmetal4ever
I guess what I dislike about baseboard heat is the fact that there's no way I can think of to make those metal heat registers look anything other than cheap and antiquated, even if freshly painted. You can have the nicest furnishings in the home, but to me the heat registers are an eyesore. Forced Air registers blend in better since they're smaller.
If you want to spend the money they have low profile baseboard.
I guess what I dislike about baseboard heat is the fact that there's no way I can think of to make those metal heat registers look anything other than cheap and antiquated, even if freshly painted. You can have the nicest furnishings in the home, but to me the heat registers are an eyesore. Forced Air registers blend in better since they're smaller.
Replacing the registers is fairly inexpensive. However, before you buy the house have a professional check out the hot water system. You have to annually service the chemical balance in the system, just like the cooling system in a car. If that has been neglected, you may be looking at some expensive repairs.
Many hot water heating systems get domestic hot water just by running water through coils in the boiler. It's nice because you never run out of hot water, but requires you to keep the boiler hot all summer. You can replace the burner with a gas burner, but for best efficiency you will have to replace the whole burner/boiler with a new one. Payback on that expense may be many years. Of course, forced air furnaces burn through and have to be replaced too. Nothing lasts forever.
You might want to look into alternatives-either geothermal or a heat exchange. Yeah, they both are boocoo $$$$$ up front but if you go with geothermal, you can get a tax credit if you put it in before the end of 2016. Both are cheaper to run and both help the environment.
Replacing the registers is fairly inexpensive. However, before you buy the house have a professional check out the hot water system. You have to annually service the chemical balance in the system, just like the cooling system in a car. If that has been neglected, you may be looking at some expensive repairs.
99% of the people I know with boilers don't bother with this and I know a lot of them. The big issue with water is the oxygen content, once that is consumed it becomes "dead". The key is to not drain it, purge the air from it yearly and make sure there is no leaks etc.
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Get a formal quote from natural gas company
