Finished basement heat

[john84]

I am looking for some advice on what the best option is for heating my basement. The finished area will be about 600 sqft. So far it is just framed so I have access to my ductwork.

I currently have hot air with 2 zones, the basement will be a playroom/tv room for my daughter. Should I attempt to add a zone off my existing heat? Run some electric baseboard? Any info or opinions would be helpful

Thanks

 

[semipro]

I guess I'll jump in -- so many considerations!
Any heat you add to the basement will tend to move to cooler places such as insulated masonry walls and floors, or it will move towards your first floor. If you basement is well insulated then added heat will warm occupants before moving upstairs.
Is your central heat a heat pump? If so, it may make sense to add some ductwork and supply registers in the basement. Heat flows upward though so an insulated concrete floor will always be cold even if warm air is blown in from above. Carpet or other flooring helps some but not much. If your central heat is electrical resistance or propane it may make sense to go with baseboard heat just because its easy and cheap as long as you have the electrical capacity in your power drop and panel. The floor your daughter is playing on may still be cold though as the heat produce from the baseboard heaters quickly moves upward.
So much depends on what fuel you use to heat with, how the basement is finished, how readily heat can move upstairs, etc.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

How long do you want to heat it?

If your daughter will only be down there a couple of hours a day, you might not want to heat it all the time. Electric space heaters might be a good option. If it'll be used all day, your furnace might be the answer.

 

[xman23]

Hot air is so hard to get the rooms balanced. So cutting into it can cause cold rooms upstairs. I would go with electric baseboard. Easy to install and cheep. It may not be the cheapest to run, but your not using all the time.

 

[john84]

How long do you want to heat it?

If your daughter will only be down there a couple of hours a day, you might not want to heat it all the time. Electric space heaters might be a good option. If it'll be used all day, your furnace might be the answer.

The room will not be used all the time only a few hours a day.

 

[john84]

Hot air is so hard to get the rooms balanced. So cutting into it can cause cold rooms upstairs. I would go with electric baseboard. Easy to install and cheep. It may not be the cheapest to run, but your not using all the time.

That was one of my concerns trying to tie in to the existing system. Sounds like electric baseboard might be the way to go.

 

[Wooden Head]

Using Electric for heat should only be your last choice. It will be very expensive and circulation with most systems is questionable. I have about a 700 sf basement and have 2 heating sources. Propane and pellet stove. The pellet stove is a Quad SantaFe. The stove on low will heat you out of the area if not on a thermostat. Both systems do a great job.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Why do you say that?

We don't know his electric rate, how he's planning to insulate, planned time he' going to be in the house, etc.

Lowest cost install will be electric. Highest operating cost is often electric. But if well insulated and with a rug/pad, that cost can be lowered significantly. The rise in temp is only from ground temp, say 55, to 65 or so.

 

[john84]

I am not sure of my electric rate, the room will be used a few hours a day.

I have not insulated the room yet but I plan to and the room will have carpet.

 

[stee6043]

I added one of these during a basement finishing project. I wired it using a relay and a separate thermostat. For the money it would be pretty hard to beat a solution like this for on-demand, quick heat.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0039PFHFG/?tag=hearthamazon-20

 

[moey]

Our basement while not finished is insulated R10 on the walls with drywall on top of its about 800 sq/ft. I added two supply registers they dont blow a lot of air but usually the basement is low 60s they have a damper close to the trunk and I choke off most not all the air in the summer. I dont have a return I consider the bottom of the basement door a return.

Adding a baseboard alone with nothing else I dont think is a great idea no one wants to go into a cold room and wait 30 minutes for the room to warm up specially a younger person. I think it would be good to add one for supplementing though if you want the room 70.

 

[zrock]

Tap into your existing and add a flapper into the vent so you can regulate the air flow. This way you can close it down a bit if you notice a heat loss upstairs. That room will heat faster being closer to the furnace.

 

[john84]

Ok so I'll investigate adding a zone, I have a HVAC guy coming to give me a price for moving my air handler and a central air line about 6' to the unfinished side of the basement I'll ask him for a quote.

Any ideas what i should expect to pay to move an air handler about 6' in the basement?

 

[moey]

You probably wont be able to add a real zone with ductwork with a hydronic system you could. Its too small of space. When I say a real zone if the basement was the only thing wanting heat your heating system is way to large. But you can piggyback on other zones if they are running the basement zone can run and can shut off.

 

[john84]

It is a hydro air system if that makes a difference, but I do understand what you are saying

 

[fbelec]

if you have a hydro/air that means you have a boiler feeding the air handler. why not just run a zone off the boiler. cheap to run it and can be controlled thru a set back thermostat.

 

[coutufr]

I would put a nice little wood stove down there. You could also use it during shoulder season to heat the whole house. If you are like me and do not have that kind of money just put baseboards and that’s it. Baseboard are quiet and cheap to install which are 2 important qualities for your application. If you plan to use the furnace fan all the time and heat the whole house you will find it a little bit cold in your basement.

 

[john84]

I would love to put a wood stove down there but the room is not close to the chimney. A pellet stove would be nice but I think I would have problems trying to vent it without it being to close to a window on the first floor.

 

[coutufr]

If you have a decent insulation of your outside walls down there (spray foam) I whould go with baseboards and use them when you need them. You can put them at 18 or 19c. Just a couple of degrees difference will make a big difference in terms of comfort. You can also put an electric fireplace to put more heat where you need it. Electric heating is a last resort for me even if electricity cost is relatively cheap here but it has some serious advantages.

 

[Brian26]

I am not sure of my electric rate, the room will be used a few hours a day.

I have not insulated the room yet but I plan to and the room will have carpet.

Mass has the 2nd highest electric rates in the continental US. I would avoid electric heat as you will pay a fortune for it.

https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=epmt_5_6_a

 

[john84]

Thanks for that information. That's just one more thing to add to the list of negitve things in this great state.

I will hopefully be meeting the HVAC contractor tomorrow. Is it possible to add hot water baseboard down there with my existing system?

 

[blades]

likely yes, but why not just build a sub floor and heat that which in turn will heat the room from your hydronic. It will be a lot more comfortable, no cold feet or in case of little ones playing - well seems everything is on the floor.

 

[mass_burner]

I haven't heard minisplit yet here..would that be a less expensive option.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I would go for a wood stove or a pellet stove before electric baseboard heat. Either would help out a lot with the house above and keep the basement warm and dry. Electric resistance heat is fine for spot heat in bathrooms but is an expensive option to heat an entire floor. EDIT: But not usually for just a few degrees.
My concrete floor is uninsulated as are the walls in my finished basement. Perhaps because its mostly underground but its the warmest part of the house. I'm in my stocking feet right now and the floor is not cold at all. Room temp is about 75 all the time. Most of the heat here comes off my boiler at the far end of the space in a back room.

 

[john84]

A pellet stove might be an option if I can vent it, anyone have experience with a mini split system.

Thanks for all the help