My house is heated with an oil fired boiler and baseboard radiation. My boiler is getting on there and people tell me to convert a heat pump. I can't see anything on the web which would seem to do the job. Are there any heat pumps that will basically replace the boiler and work with the existing baseboard radiation. I am concerned that the heat pumps can produce water at 120 degrees the current boiler heats the water to 180 degrees and radiation baseboard is sized accordingly.

You probably will want to move this thread to the general forum. It will get noticed more there and by people who might be able to answer your question(s). This one is for all out "lunacy", name calling, and general silliness.

I live in Central Oregon on the east side of the Cascade mountains at 4300 Ft..above sea level in a heavily wooded area, it gets cold here in the winters and their is no natural gas so your choices on heating are Propane gas, electric with a heat pump, wood stoves, fireplaces or pellet stoves.
We bought this house in 2004, it was built in 1986. it is all eclectic and had a heat pump, air condition system in it that didn't work very well along with a great first generation pellet stove that work excellent for heating
We had to replace the electric heat pump system the next year and found out the hard way they don't work worth a hoot when the outside air temps get below freezing, 32F The old pellet stove work great until it broke down and we couldn't get parts to fix it so we had to replace it with new modern one, it works good also .
We are having a early cold winter and it looks like I will probably use two tons of pellets this winter, they cost right at $360.00 a ton delivered and last around six weeks under normal winter weather here
I probably jinx myself now and will probably need to buy another ton later this winter

Looking online what I found...



The question is, are you planning on using the heat pump to heat the base board radiation alone?

Were you looking to use it for summer A/C also????
Normally that's done using forced air so duct work is required.

I live in Texas where we have fairly mild winters most of the time. When it does get cold, the wind makes it worse. I have a small living quarters in my shop that uses a heat pump because I have no gas to the shop. I don’t like heat pumps because it works way to hard to pull heat out of the cold winter air to heat your house. The colder it gets, the harder it works. Then the electric takes over. Since the electricity rates have tripled, heating with electricity is going to be very expensive. I don’t know anything about a boiler system but a heat pump does not produce hot water. It makes heat by air blowing over the hot Freon in the coils.

Heat pumps were the rage in ND 40 years ago. But as Cab mentioned, when the ambient temperature drops the coefficient of performance goes in the toilet and the backup electrical comes on. What happened where I live was that the higher price of a heat pump was just barely recovered from the efficiency savings when the heat pump died and had to be replaced. The combination heat/AC dual units fared even worse with the switching valve failures. I haven't seen one for new construction for more than two decades.

I would consider converting to forced air furnace. There are pro's and cons to all heating types and considerations where you live. But if a house is say 40* how much energy will be used and how long will it take to get to 70*? Compare baseboard vs forced air furnace(various types gas,electric etc) costs and you will find what suites your needs. I know my (high efficiency) gas forced air furnace will heat the house in short time compared to gas/oil fired boiler/baseboards and use less fuel to do it.

has anyone ever noticed heating systems seem to break down or have problems in the winter, while ac systems seem to do the same in summer ?

that is so true....

I forgot to mention that we had to add heat strip to our system to get it to actually make heat in the winter
The dang air conditioning company milk the heck out of us on that deal
I didn't shop around or ask for other people's experience with all the company here in central Oregon

You mean they have problems when they are in use, and don't have problems when not in use?

I've been in our house 30 years and it is all electric with a heat pump. The original trane unit went about 15 years. The second carrier unit about 5. It was replaced with another heavily discounted Carrier Infinity system that's approaching 10. They gave us a 10 year P&L warranty (😓) so I'm sweating that but figure I can replace it before it fails and the replacement may fail before this one would

The newer pumps will work into the negative temps how negative depends on the system. I believe mine is set to lockout at -15 or 20. I am surprised Cab is having problems at the temps mentioned. A couple of questions for both the OP and Cab:
How old is the house?
Is the system sized properly for the square footage and age of the house?
Another is leaky duct work. They are a lot stricter on this today that they were years ago. My hose was built in 87 and had A LOT of leaks at corners and Joints
Does your system have a whole house humidifier inline with the duct work? They can make a big difference.
Another question is are the windows double pane?
last would be how well are the doors and windows sealing

A younger contractor may suggest a pump based on todays standards for Sq ftg. not taking into account age and other factors.

We do occasionally see -20 or lower around Jan. Feb timeframe

Heat pumps have a reputation to not keep up in very cold weather, are a significant investment, and, run your electric bill through the roof.

Stick with the proven system you already have.

We have a geothermal system that replaced an air to air heat pump system. Both put out cool air in the winter. They warm the house okay, but we have propane ventless heaters in a couple of rooms. When this system $hits the bed, there will be no more heat pumps for us. It will be propane forced air which puts out 100+ degree air out of the registers. Any money that a heat pump system may save is not worth putting up with luke warm air coming out of the registers. The house just seems colder like that.

If it were up to the wife, we would make the change yesterday. We both grew up with natural gas furnaces.

Heat pumps work good...until the outside temps. dip into the 30's range and then they must have a supplemental heat source (either electric heat strips or gas). Here in the mid-south they are ok.
We have had heat pumps for the last 40+ yrs. If I lived in the North I would not consider one.

i believe you are right sir !

my ac/heating guy installed a heat pump at his home about 3 years ago as a test... he says they work 'great'... we are on long island... yes elect costs are $$$, but we have solar panels which generate excess power so we are going with one now... we'll see if there is a savings over our propane boiler

Agree. What I have here in East Tennessee. If I were still in Michigan it would be gas forced air or a boiler with base board. Heat pumps suck when temp drops below 30 degrees.

Not all heat pumps are the same

I just installed this one. Still has a COP over 2, down to -22F.

https://senville.com/28000-btu-tri-zone-mini-split-air-conditioner-sena-30hf-t/

Where are those made and ship from?
I never heard of that brand

That's a mini-split, intended for use in one room.

People use them in 3 season rooms to be able to use the room year round.

There's only a few major manufacturers of heat pumps.

https://mideaminisplit.com/

"GD Midea Air Conditioning is the leading manufacturer for all major brands like Toshiba, Carrier, Goodman, Friedrich, Samsung, Kenmore, Trane, Lennox, LG, and many more private labels like Senville, Klimaire, AirCon, Century, Pridiom, Thermocore and much more."

Is a natural gas fired boiler not an option? I live in MN and with the temps we have, forget the heat pumps!

Interesting topic - heating is something I have paid attention to over the years, & for the past 3 years my wife & I have been wanting to move somewhere more rural in Michigan on at least 5 acres. 97% of the places we have been considering have propane forced air, we currently live about 35 miles NW of Detroit area & have always had forced air natural gas systems. Random comments & some opinions:

1. I prefer forced air systems because they exchange the air inside your house, & filter it. Base board heat or any kind of radiant heat does not do this. We have a make-up air system in our house, so when the furnace kicks, there is a feed of fresh outside air that draws into the cold air return duct, then is filtered & heated & distributed.
2. With a forced air system of either propane or natural gas, you can install a whole house humidifier.
3. My brother lives in Harrisburg, PA. & built his house in the early 90's - they are in a more mild climate than us, but they DO have winters! They have always had a heat pump, & whenever we visit there in cold weather, it just seems cool in their house - uncomfortably so. There is a heating "coil" that provides heat when it is required, so their electric bill goes up quite a bit when it gets cold.
4. One of my reps about 10 years ago who lived in the same area in PA. as my brother, always had trouble heating his house. He decided to have a geothermal system installed. It cost him over 30-grand, & he & his wife hated it - house was always cold in cold weather. The system utilizes 60-something air temps that are constant when you get to a certain depth below ground. The theory sounds really great, but when it's really cold outside, you want 70-72* heat inside your home! Obviously, everybody is a little different on what is comfortable to them. In the winter, my wife wants the thermostat set at 72.
5. We looked at a house about a month ago with our realtor - it was in a rural area & had propane heat. Propane has always scared me a bit because of cost. BUT, the homeowner was there during our tour & I got talking with him about propane. He told me propane has about twice the BTU's of natural gas, so half as much of it as natural gas is used. This house also had a whole house generator & he said when power goes out & it kicks on, it "sips" at the propane. He said he has his tank filled typically 2x a year.

Our electricity & natural gas costs have risen substantially over the past several years. "Necessarily" according to one former president.

My comments for what it's worth................I'm now leaning toward propane forced air as #1 preference.

Register air temps with heat pump; 80* +/-
Register air temps with propane; 120*+

Our register temps in winter with our geothermal are about 78*. That can actually feel cold if you come in and are damp. With propane, we would come in and stand over the registers to get warm. You could be soaking wet and with 120+* air, you get WARM and dry.

As I said before, if and when this current heat pump pukes, there will not be another one. There is simply not enough (if any) savings to put up with lukewarm air instead of HOT air coming out of the registers.

Nothing heats like a real flame. Same scenario in the kitchen. Hard to change from a gas range to an electric.

Gas hot water cast iron radiator for me. That's real heat other than a good coal fire.

You mean like a light bulb only burns out when you first turn it on?
I solved that by not turning them on.