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Basements Heating & Air Conditioning

heat in basement

last year

I live in the northeast, and have an unfinished basement which seems to have a comfortable temperature with no hvac today - winter, summer, you name it. About 6 feet below grade. It does have a furnace, boiler, air handler, and washer and dryer but the hvac elements are servicing other parts of the house.

We intend to finish it, replace the furnace and boiler with a tankless combi boiler, and open some registers from the existing forced air ducts to allow some AC or fan airflow from the first floor air conditioning (which does not include heat - first floor has hydronic radiant floor).

My question, some are telling us that we absolutely need heat in the basement. It sounds like a waste of space and money to me since the basement is comfortable today. I can even run the air handler fan in the winter which would pull some of the air from the first floor down if the heating need is very slight. Replacing the boiler and furnace might lower the temp in the basement, although we’re also adding insulation. Should I be very concerned with the idea of not having heat? Or is there something I’m missing?

Thanks

Joe

Comments (4)

mike_home
last year
Basements below grade have small heat loads and almost zero cooling loads. Some of the heat loss from the current boiler and furance may be enough to keep the basement comfortable. If you install more efficient equipment if may change the basement's ambient temperature.

I don't think you need to spend a lot of money to heat the fihished area. You could add electric baseboard heating to add some heat on very cold nights. Even a portable space heater may be sufficient for your needs.

Another option is to use the combi boiler with hydronic baseboard radiators. It will cost more but the operating costs will be lower.
fnmroberts
last year
When you insulate and finish the basement, the characteristics will change. The heat-sink from the exposed foundation will lessen meaning less temperature fluxiation.

Since you have a boiler, air exchange will be slight without using your air handler.

You should use a dehumidifier and maintain <45% humidity when necessary. Our basement only needs auxulary heat spring/fall when the house doesn’t require heat. We installed an electric fireplace.
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If you already have a boiler and hydronic heating in your house, it makes sense to tap into the existing system and heat the basement off the same boiler. Your cost for heating the basement will be only incrementally higher than what is now costing you to heat the rest of the house. Electric heating in the basement would would probably cost many times more. If the heating guy who gave you the $2900 price is the same guy who installed your boiler or heating system, then it probably makes sense to have him do the work. He knows the system. You might ask him if there's any other way of tapping into the existing system that might cost less. Perhaps running baseboard radiators that begin on the wall enclosing the boiler room (I'm assuming your boiler is somewhere in the basement), or something else. If the heating guy is someone that hasn't worked in your house before, then why not get a couple of other estimates from other firms. Another outfit may offer a better solution that's less costly, or perhaps, just have lower overhead and do the work for less. Since you plan to be in the house for many years, I'd encourage you to avoid the electric solution. What you save up front will probably cost you much more in the long run.
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PRO
Charles Ross Homes
last year
Hi, Joe,

Conditioning basements can be challenging because the heating and cooling loads tend to be small and outdoor air exchange tends to be less compared with above-grade living areas. We typically install a dedicated, ducted mini-split heat pump for conditioning basements because of the system's turndown capability and the ability to integrate a dehumidifier. You should also consider fresh air ventilation requirements for basement living areas. A properly sized heat-recovery ventilator (HRV) or energy-recovery ventilator (ERV) would be good candidates.
mtvhike
last year
For what are you going to use the finished basement?

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