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Mikepier

wrote:
I'm looking for advice on heating my 100+ year old 3-flat (no tenants,
just me and my sister).

It is currently heated by cast iron gas space heaters, 1 or 2 units per
floor, approximately 35000 BTU per heater. The brick building, for the
most part, has no insulation. It has an unheated glorified crawl
space, 3-5 feet in height. New windows and doors, so leaking air is
not a problem.

I'm remodeling the place and my contractor has suggested lowering the
10 foot ceilings to install central heat. I don't want to do that, but
I'm at a loss for alternatives. I'd like to install radiant floor heat
on the first floor, and gas fireplaces or heaters on the other floors.
I really like my old space heaters, but my sister doesn't, and we
should probably replace them anyway. I have a newer space heater that
doesn't work as well, plus it's downright ugly. Direct vent gas
firelplaces are being considered, but that requires punching a hole in
the wall, which I'm not too keen on.

Vent-free gas heaters are out of the question, as the aggrevate my
respiratory problems. Likewise for any heating system with a fan.

I'm afraid to convert to electrical heat completely, as I have no idea
what it would cost. Ideally, I would love to have a dual fuel system
(gas/electric), to be able to take advantage of whichever fuel is
cheaper. I live in Chicago, and electric rates are due to rise around
20% soon.

What are my options? (I plan to stay in this building for another 8-10
years.)

Karen

In your neck of the woods, I would imagine gas is cheaper to operate in
the long run due to your cold winters in Chicago. The space heaters you
have now, are they the ones mounted in the wall and vents outside?