Heating
Boilers, radiant heat and full-service heating care in Columbia and Rensselaer County
Most of the heating work in this county comes down to hydronics: a boiler moving hot water through copper, cast iron, baseboard or panel radiators instead of a furnace pushing warm air through ducts. We fit and service all of it, plus the oil-to-gas conversions and full-service care that come with an older house.
Chapter 01
Boilers that outlast the neighbors
When a boiler needs replacing rather than repairing, we install Viessmann and Buderus. Both are built to run for a couple of decades rather than the five to seven years a lot of homeowners have gotten used to, and that matters more than the sticker price once you count how many times a cheaper unit gets swapped out over the same span of a house's life.
Sizing is the part that actually decides whether that longevity shows up. A boiler that is too big for the house short cycles, wearing out its own components faster than one sized correctly to the actual heat loss of the rooms it is serving. We size to the house, not to whatever was already bolted to the wall.
A residential heating appliance in a basement mechanical room with copper pipe runs and a flue
Radiant, cast iron and European panel radiators
Radiant heat, cast iron radiators and European panel radiators are three different ways of getting the same hot water into a room, and which one suits a house usually comes down to what is already there. Cast iron holds heat and releases it slowly, which is why an old radiator that still works is often worth keeping and re-piping rather than tearing out. Panel radiators run cooler water and react faster, which suits a renovation where the piping is being redone anyway.
Baseboard heat and towel bar warmers are the same hydronic principle at a smaller scale, usually finishing off a room a boiler already serves rather than driving the whole house. We tie all of it back to the same boiler and the same zoning instead of treating every room as its own separate project.
Chapter 03
Oil and gas conversions, and the indirect tank that comes with them
Converting an oil-fired system to gas is usually the point where a house also picks up an indirect water heater, a tank that takes its heat from the boiler instead of running its own burner. It is a straightforward way to get domestic hot water off a boiler that is already there, and it tends to recover faster than a standalone electric or gas tank running on its own.
The conversion itself is a bigger job than most repairs. It touches the fuel line, the flue and often the boiler itself, so we walk through what the house actually needs before quoting rather than assuming every oil system converts the same way.
Full-service heating care, and what 24/7 actually means here
Full-service heating care covers the equipment most people never think about until it stops working the way it should. The office runs Monday to Friday, 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM, and that schedule is when routine service and installs get booked.
Heating emergencies do not keep those hours, though, so emergency service runs around the clock regardless of when the office itself is open. If a boiler quits on a Sunday in January, the call still comes to us.
Dan's Heating & Cooling. Certified and Insured. Call 518-339-6534.
The rest of the system
Save Money and Energy With Viessmann and Buderus Boilers
These superior systems outlast a conventional heating system, so you are not going to replace your boiler every 5 to 7 years like your neighbors. The rest of the heating side is below.
What else comes under heating
Heat pumps
One outdoor unit covering heating and cooling both, an option worth weighing against a boiler when a system is being planned from scratch.
Forced air heating
Where a house already runs a furnace and ductwork instead of hydronic heat, we service and replace that too.
Geothermal and solar heat
Site-dependent options for a house set up to use them, discussed against the boiler alternative rather than sold on their own.
Humidification and air cleaners
Added onto the heating system already in the house, these are usually a conversation that happens alongside a boiler or furnace job, not a separate call.
Programmable thermostats
The control layer for whichever heat source is doing the work, boiler, heat pump or furnace alike.
When the office is closed
Office hours are Mon-Fri 7:30am-4pm. Emergency heating service runs around the clock regardless, so a cold house on a weekend still gets a call answered.
$10 off annual cleaning services of a standard heating system.Excludes parts and materials.