Best way to heat finished basement with baseboard heat

This isn't really stove related, unless the long term answer is picking up a second smaller insert, but here goes.

Our raised ranch/split level home has baseboard forced water heat. Last winter we had a new Buderus boiler installed, and re-piped the house to correct the mess the previous owner made of the heating system. We now have 3 zones, each isolated and run by it's own pump. Two zones are upstairs, and the third is downstairs in our finished basement.

Last year, I had no problem heating the entire upstairs with our insert, and rarely if ever needed to rely on the baseboard heat. Downstairs was another matter, as the baseboard heat is the only heat available, other than an oil filled space heater.

The main "play" room downstairs is about 12 x 25. It has baseboard heat along the long outside wall, which is about 3/4 below ground, and the thermostat in this room controls this zone, with it's own (isolated) loop of pipe.

My question is, if I want to maintain temps in this room around 60 when nobody is using it, and 70 when people are using it, is it more economical (that's code for "cheap") to try to heat this room with oil heat, or to use an oil-filled space heater?

The biggest problem I'm finding with heating the lower level, is that the insulation is not great. The basement has cinder block walls, and in most cases sheet rock covers a single layer of foam insulation. Also, part of the lower level leads into the garage, which come winter gets freezing, and the downstairs play room shares a short wall with the garage.

Any thoughts on the best way to heat the one play room?

Thanks,

Sean

Thanks guys.

The only difference is that 1/2 of my basement is completely above grade.

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Actually, the back side of the basement (it's divided lengthwise into a playroom and a tiled utility area with stairs going up the center to kitchen), the tiled side, mostly above grade. Sounds even more like the same set-up.

Good boiler choice. What about a programmable thermostat? I have done some research and conclude the a 6 degree set back make sense more that that too much heat is lost and takes too much oil to bring it back up what about a 68- 62 heat range? I doubt the oil filled electric heater is cost efficient than your Budurus. Have you insulated you exposed piping?

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Upstairs has the programmable thermostats, downstairs it's an old manual one.

Elk - how exactly would you suggest I use this? I'm not quite clear on what you're saying about the 68-62 range. Are you saying get a thermostat where you can set it to 68, but it won't come back on until the temp drops to 62? The thermostats I have upstairs I don't think give me the option of specifying when they kick on, it's 1-2 degrees lower than the set temp.

Which "exposed" piping are you referring to? I have lot's of piping ;-) Most of it is in the drop ceiling or behind/butted against sheetrock.

Ok. Those are the kind I have right now.

The only catch is, it would be wasted so long as the current usage pattern persists. By this I mean, we so rarely use the downstairs, The temp would always be set at the minimum temperature needed to prevent things from freezing or the dehumidifier from not working (leading to mold).

Using your logic, though, I could just set the manual thermostat 6 degrees below where we would set it when someone was downstairs. That way we'd never be looking to heat it up more than the 6 degrees.

The biggest question I think has been answered....regardless of how I set it....better to use the oil baseboard heat to do it than try to rely on a space heater.