Should I convert to baseboard heating?

[Zac P.]

I have a duplex that has two really old gas furnaces that are about to die on me. Instead of dropping $6000 on two new ones, I have contemplated replacing the heating with baseboard electric heat throughout. 

This place seems harder to rent with it being gas, so converting to electric would help keep it rented. I already have multiple houses with baseboard heating and I love not having to change filters and not having to worry about replacing an expensive furnace. The AC is window units. I'm looking to hold these very long term as rentals. Any info would be appreciated. Thank you.

[Roy N.]

Originally posted by @Ryan Wattenschaidt:

We are currently looking at a six unit building where the owner covers the cost of heat (gas) and it adversely effects cash flows of the property.  My natural instinct is to change over to electric baseboard to pass the heating costs on to the tenants and drastically improve cash flows.  I realize we will lose the existing tenants when we make the change but that is okay.  What other options would we have that would be more affordable to the tenants while benefiting us as the owners?  Right now there is one gas furnace for the entire building controlled through dampers in the duct system.

 Ryan:

If the building was originally constructed as a multiunit, then there should be separate branches to each unit from the main plenum.  If that is the case, then you could install separate, smaller, high efficiency gas furnaces for each unit without a lot of duct rework.

If the building is a conversion - say from a large, Victorian house as is common here - then there may not be separate ductwork to each unit and it may not be cost-effective to separate it all.  In these instances we would remove the furnace and ductwork (which is a conduit for fire, viruses, and your neighbours curry) and replace the heating with either ductless heat pumps, electric thermal storage heaters, or EBB (as a last choice).   

Around here, too many landlords simply install electric baseboards and push the heating costs onto their tenants w/o first investing in air sealing and (better) insulating the envelope.  Even in a region such as ours, where electric heating is cost compatible with gas and oil, it is not a recipe for long term stability.