Converting oil heat to gas or electric for multifamily

[Kristina Mullings]

I am going to put an offer in on a multifamily in my area but the only problem I came across is that both units are heated with oil. There is a gas meter available but I am not sure how costly it would be to convert the oil to gas or electric for each unit. Does anyone have experience doing this and how much it usually costs. This would be my first time doing this conversion so I am not that familiar. I would greatly appreciate any advice!

[Account Closed]

There are ways to convert the existing oil burning furnace to burn gas, but depending on the age of the furnace, it might be better just to completely replace the furnace. Since it sounds like the is already gas service there, it should just be the cost of popping a new furnace in place of the old one. 

One thought however would be electric baseboard. Although they are not as efficient as a gas forced air furnace, they are typically FAR cheaper to repair, replace, service, etc. Furnaces have expensive repairs, need to be serviced regularly, have filtered that need changing, etc. Baseboard has none of that! The only thing to think about is to make sure you have enough space in your breaker for them. I would talk with a local electrician to get a quote on that as well as a local HVAC contractor to get a quote on installing a conversion kit vs replacing the furnace. 

At least that's my opinion! lol