After decades of loyal service, cast iron radiators are gradually disappearing from Quebec homes, replaced by more modern and less expensive systems. But there are still some, and some companies even specialize in their restoration. From the most rudimentary to radiators with sophisticated reliefs, they all have in common their gentle heat and their somewhat old-fashioned silhouette.
On the site of the former Montreal Children’s Hospital, there are now several thirty-storey condo towers. But on the René-Lévesque Boulevard side, the Nurses’ House remained in place. The three-storey building was completely restored by its owner, High-Rise Montreal (HRM), to accommodate office space.
Once the asbestos was removed and the interior brick walls cleaned, the owner wanted to give the decor an old look. In 2019, he had restored cast iron radiators installed and converted to electricity. “It was more expensive than going to Home Depot and buying electric baseboard heaters, but it’s beautiful and comparable to any other heating system,” said Christopher Rassi, project manager at HRM. To carry out the project, HRM called on Ecorad, a Saint-Jean-Port-Joli company founded by Pierre Lemieux, which provided it with just over 80 radiators.
Works of art
For more than 40 years, Pierre Lemieux has been rehabilitating cast iron radiators. He says he understood, very young, that before being heating equipment, radiators were “sculptures”. Around the age of 15, he undertook to equip an old radiator recovered in Montreal with an element taken from a hot water tank.
What was initially a hobby for him has become a profession. He thus had the idea of converting radiators to electricity. Each radiator contains a mixture of water and glycol — derived from antifreeze recovered from the automotive industry — to which it adds a heating element. Thus, the device is no longer connected to a hot water system and a furnace and can operate independently, like an electric baseboard.
In 2007, Pierre Lemieux finally founded his company, Ecorad, which now does business across Canada and the United States, for customers who want to restore existing appliances or install electric heaters. “The first ones I made, in 1978, are still in use. People ask me how long they will last, but I don’t know,” he says candidly.
According to him, the restoration of radiators is advantageous from an ecological point of view. “The energy required to get rid of a radiator creates 40% of its weight in greenhouse gases. A radiator is heavy,” he points out. But that’s not all. Restoration allows the lead paint that covers them to be safely removed and eliminated.
In addition, radiant heat is much more comfortable than that emitted by convection, he points out. “Everyone is talking about heat pumps these days. It is certain that the heat pump consumes less energy than my radiator. But the life expectancy of a heat pump is 10 to 12 years. This means that the energy required to manufacture this heat pump will be erased as soon as it is replaced,” he explains. “Then, the gas used in heat pumps is a major polluter of the ozone layer. Everyone talks about efficiency for our pockets, but not for the planet. »
Pierre Lemieux is sorry to see antique radiators thrown away. “It hurts me, especially when they are beautiful pieces. People don’t realize it’s the work of an artist. It’s like a wooden sculpture that’s reproduced over and over again, but it’s still an artist who produced it. »
According to him, there are still many of this type of radiator in North America. “The latest studies we did, which date back six or seven years, show that in Canada, 800,000 homes still have radiators [en fonte]. On the American side, we are talking about 11 million houses,” says Mr. Lemieux.
Ecorad is not the only company giving radiators a second life. Shafter Bros., for example, offers services to restore or replace cast iron radiators.
Churches and monasteries
Manufactured in several North American cities where foundries were located, cast iron heaters were installed in large numbers, not only in residences, but also in monasteries, schools and churches. However, the high cost of fuel oil has prompted several establishments to opt for other heating systems, such as geothermal energy.
However, Ecorad has converted the radiators of some thirty churches in Quebec to electricity, including those of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade and Saint-Eustache. The company has also carried out several projects in schools, including the Maisonneuve school in Montreal, and in public buildings, including the Mont-Royal chalet.
In Quebec, the Augustinian monastery underwent major restoration work between 2013 and 2015, and heating is now provided by a geothermal system. In order to keep vestiges of the heating system which was in operation for a hundred years, however, a few cast iron radiators have been preserved, which now run on electricity.
The preservation of radiators will even feature in the call for projects that the City of Montreal intends to launch in 2023 for the sale and conversion of the former Saint-Paul center, in the Southwest. The City imposes as a condition on the future buyer that elements such as the staircase and the radiators be preserved.