jyoutz
Super Star Member
Heating the basement warms the floors, making the whole house more comfortable.
Heat a basement?
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Doughknob
Veteran Member
Sure, and it costs more
Citydude
Super Member
I finished my basement three years ago and put sound deadening insulation in the ceiling over the new family room to reduce the noise going through the floor to the upstairs living room. I didn't insulate any other areas down there.
The floors upstairs are warmer with the exception of the living room. My dogs can attest to that
.
The floors upstairs are warmer with the exception of the living room. My dogs can attest to that
.repete
Veteran Member
If you have a furnace that takes in air at basement floor level and then distributes the "conditioned" air through the top of the furnace, add an air intake to the low pint on the floor that you can open and close. Then in the winter you can draw the cold air that has pooled at the basement floor level and circulate that and in the summer you can use that same cool air in the basement to send upstairs.
MossRoad
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A big dial thermometer is a great idea.
bdhsfz6
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If your cold air returns are just grates in the floor and not ducted, heating the basement can interfere with air flow and could make the house feel colder.
Deere Dude
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I've owned 3 houses with basements and a furnace downstairs in finished basements. It was always to cold to stay in the basement for any length of time without supplemental heat ducts added or otherwise.
My current house has a crawl space but if I would ever have a basement again I would install a 40k gas heater to make it more bearable.
My current house has a crawl space but if I would ever have a basement again I would install a 40k gas heater to make it more bearable.
MossRoad
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Heating a basement is no different than heating any other part of the house. As long as there's proper setup, with inflow and return, it's just another room.
Of course, insulation is an issue. But insulation is an issue in rooms above ground level as well.
We have an unfinished basement. It's divided into two halves. The furnace is in one half. The laundry room/craft room/workout room is in the other half. There are heat ducts and cold air returns in both halves. It's just as warm as any other room in the house if I open the heat ducts.
Of course, insulation is an issue. But insulation is an issue in rooms above ground level as well.
We have an unfinished basement. It's divided into two halves. The furnace is in one half. The laundry room/craft room/workout room is in the other half. There are heat ducts and cold air returns in both halves. It's just as warm as any other room in the house if I open the heat ducts.
jyoutz
Super Star Member
Maybe, maybe not. With warm floors it takes less to heat the upstairs.
jyoutz
Super Star Member
I just leave the basement door open and we can feel the warm air rising upstairs.
Sounds like you don't have a need to heat the basement but you are asking if heating the basement will be more efficient and lower your bill by heating the lowest part of the home instead of leaving it unheated. The answer is no. Sorry if that's not what you were asking.
There is no maybe, maybe not. The amount of heat used for those warm floors will always be more that the little heat saved upstairs from them.
Doughknob
Veteran Member
No maybe about it. That is why I said, "physics says....." With an air duct open in the basement, one is heating all that air space and not just the floor itself. It is the "thermodynamics" branch of physics that tells us this. But, hey, I do appreciate the skeptical thing. I can be that way too. Some if that is healthy.........
jyoutz
Super Star Member
I just know that I fire up my basement pellet stove, open the doorway, and I almost don’t need the heater upstairs.
CADplans
Elite Member
We have EXACTLY the same basement situation,, with some updates.
My daughter wanted a bedroom down there, so I insulated, and finished the bedroom.
For heat, I simply added baseboard electric.
The change to the upstairs was dramatic, we were able to keep the upstairs thermostat at a lower temp.
The warm floors of the upstairs made us MUCH more comfortable.
I am convinced that keeping our basement warm lowers our total utility cost.
I am POSITIVE my wife is happier.
My daughter moved to her own place over 20 years ago,, we still baseboard heat the basement..
the only difference, is the temp in the basement can be slightly lower, since no one lives there, now.
The heat stays at the same temp down there 12 months a year,,
My daughter wanted a bedroom down there, so I insulated, and finished the bedroom.
For heat, I simply added baseboard electric.
The change to the upstairs was dramatic, we were able to keep the upstairs thermostat at a lower temp.
The warm floors of the upstairs made us MUCH more comfortable.
I am convinced that keeping our basement warm lowers our total utility cost.
I am POSITIVE my wife is happier.
My daughter moved to her own place over 20 years ago,, we still baseboard heat the basement..
the only difference, is the temp in the basement can be slightly lower, since no one lives there, now.
The heat stays at the same temp down there 12 months a year,,
ponytug
Super Member
Warm floors in the wintertime are certainly a pleasure!
MossRoad
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Yeah! When I worked at the airport back in the 80's we had a hangar with a heated floor! Pipes embedded in the floor every 6" to a manifold on the wall, to a boiler fueled with jet fuel. (sounds awesome, but jet fuel is just expensive kerosene). Park a snow-covered car in there in the morning and by lunchtime the snow was gone, the floor was evaporated dry, and you could lay on your back on the warm concrete to work on it. Loved it.
Doughknob
Veteran Member
If one compares apples to apples, that is not the case.
For example If u had the stove on the 1st flr you'd need no other heat there and above but the basement
would be colder and utility cost lower.
Peace
CADplans
Elite Member
By keeping the basement somewhat warm, the upstairs can be set at a lower temp, because the humans "feel" comfortable.
Human comfort does not follow the laws of physics,,
If you have to keep the home at 76 with cold floors, and only 70 with warm floors, there is a difference in energy use.
If the floors are cold in our home, my wife would not be happy at 76,,
But we are not talking radiant floors here, we are talking about heating a basement with forced air. Would take a pretty extreme temp in the basement to give the floors enough heat for that perceived comfort.
