finishing up a basement for family use (mostly as a reading room) and the coming temperature drop is motivating me to look into heating options for the space.
here are the details as it stands:
– about sq ft of finished area, about sq ft total space (the finished area is separated from the unfinished by wall and doors)
– currently have two options as far as heat: ) forced air unit that heats the rest of the house has a few vents in the basement but not enough to really warm things to a reasonable temperature in the winter ) wood burning stove which can warm the space quite well but has all the drawbacks one would expect (you constantly have to feed it, it burns through quite a bit of wood quite quickly, not particularly environmentally friendly, etc.)
so i’m looking for some alternatives. two caveats: we’re on an extremely tight budget and we’ll probably sell the house within two years so i’m not too interested in anything that requires heavy investing at this point.
any ideas? thanks
✅ Answers
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The answer is a no-brainer for me. You have a wood stove, Doh! As far as I am concerned you can’t beat the ambiance of a wood stove. You only burn wood when you need it. Plus wood heats you twice. Once when you cut it and once when you burn it. Look around and play your cards right and you can probably find wood anywhere from free to cheap. Your next best bet would be to simply buy a plug in electric heater. If you are not going to live in the house for no more than years do not invest more than you need to. You can also take the electric space heater with you when you go. Only make the expensive heating upgrade if you think you can get your money back plus, when you sell your house. Hey, why not burn a little wood when you want to, and use the electric space heater when you need to.
Source(s): Experience and common sense.
Natural Gas is as efficient and depending on your source is often less expensive than electricity. The issue with using an alternative is buying the appliances, such as you say with a wood burning stove.
What confuses me however, even in saying there are vents in the basement. Is the house heating electric and forced or is it natural gas?
Obviously to add heating to the basement will subtract it from the rest of the house.
I think, if it was my situation, I’d go with space heaters for the room. They come in various styles, methods of heating, need only be used when the room is occupied and come in various BTU’s. The issue with a space heater is any cost incurred on your electric bill, but not having it on all the time is the way to go. To minimize your budgeting restraints that would be my choice, as well a not having to make any modifications that a prospective buyer might find unsuitable.
DOC
Your gas system may have been highly inefficient for a number of different reasons, which makes a direct comparison between gas and electric difficult in your situation. Your question regarding efficiency is very different than the question of price. In truth, regarding true appliance performance efficiency numbers, electricity is the most efficient (though possibly not if you factor in the environmental costs if you get your electricity from a coal plant). In efficiency calculations, an electric resistive coil heat source is given an efficiency rating of , while a highly efficient gas furnace might have a rating of .. However, in most areas, electricity will still cost you more to heat with using standard resistive coil appliances. If you are using an air source or geothermal heat pump, the costs can be more attractive because the electricity is used to move heat from one place to another rather than generate the heat from electrical resistance. Of course, if you are using an air-source heat pump that goes into resistive backup mode because the ambient air temp is below the operation parameter, then it can get expensive really fast. Like I said, it’s not a simple question. That’s why professional energy auditors stay in business. They look at real numbers and figure out the best approach for the given building, location, fuel availability, etc. If you are interested in a highly efficient heat source using natural gas, look at a gas fired condensing furnace. Here is a link providing more information about these units:
Baseboard heaters, by something mid-grade to last for – yrs. They plug right into a outlet and can heat that space in minutes or so, unless your up north where it is colder than our midwest winters, then it may take – to heat up. They have nice ines at Lowe’s and Home Depot, just stay away from the cheaper models, some are even energy star qualified.
If you only plan on residing in your home for another two years you need to consider cost to heat vs purchase price and installation costs. I realize natural gas is cheaper to operate vs electric. If you only wish to heat the sq ft room I’d consider a permanent V electric baseboard heater with a wall mounted thermostat. I believe this would be your cheapest alternative considering you only plan on residing there for two years. Check Lowe’s & Home Depot as they can calculate what wattage baseboard heater is required.
Electric heat is always the most expensive way to heat a house. Look into a gas catalytic heater.
Find you an used Dearborne heater. They not only put out lots of heat, but you back up to it to it and warm up when coming in from the cold.