Can a tankless water heater replace my boiler to heat my home with my hotwater baseboard heating?

Question

Can a tankless water heater replace my boiler to heat my home with my hotwater baseboard heating?

Answer 1

I don't think tankless water heaters are designed for that use. condensing boilers are very similiar . they come in wide range of price and quality , of the links below trinity would be at the bottom of the scale and viessman at the top  but even the trinity seems to have a good track record

Answer 2

They say that you can heat your home with them but generally a tankless produces 130 F water and baseboards require 180 F water so I think they're intended more for in floor heat and low temprature systems. Don't go tankless though I work on these things and they are maintenance nightmares, and barely save any energy. Go with a 96% efficient boiler and a boiler heated sidearm water heater you'll be saving tons of energy and you'll have all the hot water you need, with low maintenance costs when it breaks down. A sidearm water heater looses maybe .50 cents a day due to cooling off and you'll easily make up for that and more with a really good boiler.

Answer 3

No they are two separate systems and do not mix you might be able to get rid of the boiler with one and another one for your hot water

Answer 4

It depends on the temperature it can produce.

Your baseboard heaters need a water temp of 180 deg F. to give you the rated output of 600 BTU per foot.

Most water heaters have a high temp of 140 deg. F. and at that temp you baseboard heaters will only put out 400 BTU per foot so you need one that will supply the correct output.

Answer 5

YES YOU CAN!  The previous replies are correct regarding the use of a conventional tankless water heater and temperature; however, there are now a couple of tankless water heater manufacturers that now offer models designed specifically for hydronic (hot water baseboard) heating.  Noritz offers a couple of ASME models.  I am looking to do the same thing, replace my 30 year old boiler with a tankless boiler.  I saw a couple of others, but do not remember the brands.  All of the tankless heaters designed for hydronic heating should have the ASME designation.