When I moved into my home the first thing I thought was that the boiler system in the basement had to go.
I hated that it was large, rusty and took up tons of space.
I also hated that my living room had metal grates to let the heated air in. When I called over the local HVAC contractor he heavily pushed against removing the boiler. He told me that they are big and reliable. A boiler system can live fifty years without any sort of care. He said if I didn’t like the vents, I could cover them and do baseboard heaters or radiators. I wasn’t pleased with the look of either of those options. After talking back and forth the HVAC professional said that if I was going to change the flooring, I could do hydronic heating. I would add piping to the boiler, have it extend in the new flooring and hot water would warm the floors that flow through the pipes. I ended up doing this and it was such a good idea. I love having radiant heating. It is such a classy way to heat a home. The heating system is silent and doesn’t waste heat by rising to the ceiling. Since it is water based and not air, there are no cold spots either. The boiler is such a tank too. The HVAC worker did not lie. I have not needed to call him since the initial installation. My kids and animals both love laying on the new heating system too. It was a classy, worthwhile update the house needed.