efficient heating options? philadelphia row home. i pay electric!

[Robert Hastings]

i purchased a home that is a rooming house.  three rooms.  renting for 100 per week per room.  in a perfect world, with no vacancy the home will collect 1200 gross rent.  i paid 17k for the house tenant occupied.  low income zip code.  i cover all utilities (water and electric)  i expect between utilities and taxes (50/month) and insurance (47/month) i should cash flow close to 600+ per month.  since i purchased i have upgraded the bathroom and painted and carpets.  the heating system needs to be addressed and this is where i need some help.  some stats:  the home is small, maybe 1000 square feet row home in the inner city.  there is a home on both sides of my house.  only windows are in the front of the house and the back of the house (again row home style)  2 bedroom.  the downstairs living room was converted into a third room.  common areas are kitchen and bathroom.

the house is all electric.  the house does not have gas service.  its been that way since 2009.  i think keeping a home warm has lot to do with insulation and keeping drafts sealed as well as the heating system applied.  ii added a second interior door to separate the main front door from the living area.  think a small vestibule that acts as a buffer from the outside and the inside.  i replaced the back door with a sealed steel door with weather stripping.  the tenants are also cool with covering the windows in plastic wrap i the middle of winter to eliminate any draft...none of these tactics did the previous owner do.  

if i put electric baseboard heating all over the house (think 6-8 units) i wont have complete control over the electric because baseboards have thermostats on the individual baseboard, giving the tenant the option to run on high 24/7.  that might cost less to install but will kill my monthly cash flow with the electric bill.  im considering getting an electric furnace because there once was a forced hot air heating system and the duct work is already installed and there are vents all throughout the house.  the old furnace is shot but the ductwork is in tact.  its kinda plug and play and i have had several HVAC guys quote me on this. it would cost more up front but it would be a new system with warranty and i can add one thermostat that only i can control.  i think thermostats are huge.  they can be set to one temp and on timers, correct?  i can even get a wi-fi thermostat and control the temp from my primary residence! i think if i set the thermostat at 68 (which is the minimum the city allows) and on a timer i think i can control the heating bill pretty well?

thoughts?  electric baseboard heating or electric furnace with forced hot air?!

[Steve Babiak]

@Rafael Floresta- PECO does not supply gas inside the city limits for Philadelphia, PECO only supplies gas in the suburbs. PGW is the gas company inside the Philadelphia city limits. 

The options already given are pretty much your best choices. Gas or heat pump, maybe a mini-split might make sense to consider. 

As to wifi thermostats - if you provide the wifi, I guess that might be a worthwhile option, but if you don't ...

Even with you controlling the thermostat, tenants have cleverly identified methods to "defeat" landlord controls, such as ice packs placed in proximity to the thermostat, or just opening windows in the room where the thermostat is located.