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The Quincy Herald-Whig Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007 Page 9 ❏

On the Web at: www.whig.com BLUEPRINT
“It’s so comfortable, and our boiler works just fine. We have the nicest heat.”
— Betty Kaufmann, who lives with husband Emery in the Kaufmann House bed-and-breakfast at 1641 Hampshire

This radiator in the Kaufmann House bed-and-breakfast is in the dining room

against a wall with pocket doors used to separate two rooms.

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL KIPLEY ◆ HERALD-WHIG STAFF

A globe and a vase rest on a radiator in one of the guest rooms at the Kaufmann House bed-and- breakfast, 1641 Hampshire.
This mini radiator sits between a
claw-foot tub and toilet in the upstairs
bathroom in the Kaufmann House bed-
and-breakfast.
By Rodney Hart
Herald-Whig Staff Writer
Betty Kaufmann loves her steam-
heated radiators and wouldn’t think of
changing to a furnace system.
“It’s so comfortable, and our boiler
works just fine,” says Kaufmann, who
lives with husband Emery in the Kauf-
mann House bed-and-breakfast at 1641
Hampshire. “We have the nicest heat.”
For older homes with boiler sys-
tems, sticking with the traditional
radiators is a good option, though
newer furnaces can be more energy-
efficient.
Kent McCormick of Peters Heating
and Air Conditioning in Quincy says
quite a few older homes in Quincy still
used the traditional steam-heating sys-
tems.
“Some of the newer steam systems
can be just as efficient as regular fur-
nace systems,” McCormick said.
“They can go into the low- to mid-90
percent efficiency ratings.”
McCormick says Peters crews often
see boilers in older homes that should
be replaced. A new boiler system will
cost from $3,000 on up, but energy
savings will quickly help recover costs.
“A lot of the old boiler systems I
see all the time, they are around 55
percent efficiency,” McCormick said.
Many older homes have classic
radiators that fit in with the historical
significance of the residence. And
steam heat can be very comfortable.
Betty Kaufmann says her grandson
recently replaced an older boiler with a
newer furnace in a house near 22nd
and Jefferson. And next door to the
bed-and-breakfast house, the Kauf-
manns own an older house with a
newer boiler.
“We have noticed with the new
boiler, it’s more efficient in cost,” she
said. “We noticed our bills went down.
The boiler in this house probably costs
us a littler more, but it’s still working
fine.”
Emery Kaufmann occasionally
checks the boiler to make sure the
water pressure is maintained. Betty
TURN THE
RADIATOR ON
With all the older homes in Quincy,
steam-heating systems remain hot
Kaufmann says she’s unsure of the boil-
er’s age.
“It sounds old-fashioned, but older
things are the best. They last a long
time,” she said.
The house, built in 1886, still has
classic radiators in one downstairs
room, in several upstairs bedrooms
and in an upstairs bathroom.
McCormick recommends older
boilers be checked annually to make
sure they are still safe and in working
condition. Crews replacing boilers
should be certified, he said.
Homeowners shouldn’t try to put
in new boilers or repair old boilers
themselves, McCormick said.
During the fall, Peters will start get-
ting requests to check heating systems.
“We’re still catching up on the air
conditioners, but we’re already start-
ing to get calls,” McCormick said.
Peters doesn’t install boilers and
radiators in new homes. But with the
large number of older Quincy resi-
dences, replacing boilers with similar
systems is a good option.
“They are comfortable, that’s the
No. 1 reason for boilers,” McCormick
said. “There’s no noise, and it fits in
with the construction of the house.
Some of these homes are on the
national registry, and you can’t change
a lot of things.”
One suggestion for owners of older
homes is to install an outdoor air-reset
control. Because the pipes and radia-
tors in an old house are large, the
heating system contains a lot of water
that has to be heated every time the
thermostat goes on.
That wastes fuel because even after
the circulator stops, the radiator pipes
are still full of hot water and continue
to heat the house. An outdoor air-reset
control monitors the outside air tem-
perature and then sets the boiler water
temperature accordingly to produce
only the amount of heat needed on
that day. So the water never gets hot-
ter than necessary.
Contact Staff Writer Rodney Hart
at rhart@whig.com or (217) 221-3370

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