Heating solutions in the PNW

[Ben Anderson]

Hello, I am finishing some a remodel on a 1911 home with an ADU in the Seattle area.

The home was previously heated by two gas stoves with very little ducting. As part of converting the upstairs unit to a 2 bedroom, I had to remove the upstairs stove. The upstairs (~1000 sq ft) is heated by 3 electric baseboard heaters and has been at a pleasant temperature at all times of day.

The plan for the downstairs ADU (also ~1000 sq ft) was to do a combination of baseboard heaters and the existing system, however the existing system is not working and my contractor says was not installed properly. I have been living downstairs with 2 baseboard heaters, and the mornings are rather chilly, but the temperatures are already fine. I'm considering several options for heat and would like to hear some other opinions:

Option 1: Remove old system downstairs, add a third baseboard heater downstairs ~$100

Option 2: Install new gas stove downstairs, fix chimney, use existing ducting, possibly use no baseboard heaters ~$3500

Option 3: Install a ductless mini split system for upstairs and downstairs ~ $7500

It's fairly typical for homes in my area to not have AC so the mini split system would be a good selling point. I am a little concerned about the costs of running a bunch of electric baseboard heaters (I'm house hacking right now and plan on splitting utilities with the tenant for the 1-2 years I live here). I understand that long term it will be the tenant's responsibility, but I imagine it will impact what I can charge/tenant's inclination to stay.

[Michael Haas]

By “gas stove” do you mean a free-standing stove, kind of like a wood burner, or are you just talking about a furnace?

I’ve been going Cadet (in wall) heaters over baseboard. Same price but better efficiency, although they are noisier. 

Cadet or baseboard is my vote- decide early on if your holding the property or selling it- it might make sense to go mini-split in a high end flip but don’t over-improve your rentals!