Thanks to everyone for some helpful feedback. Again, there does not appear to be a concise consensus. The original baseboard was along the back wall and not near the window wall. I had it moved since that heat would essentially be behind the headboard, end tables and bookcase. Leaving that wall free of obstacles would not have made good use of the room. I also did not want that heat rising right into our heads when we slept. I had the plumber move the radiator to under the window. This unit is not as long but is a higher output baseboard unit. AS it is shorter, it may have less overall heat output than what it replaced, but I also felt that placing it under the three windows would be more helpful. I would have preferred a cast iron radiator, but the wall of windows is bowed and the window sills are pretty low to the floor. A cast iron unit would not have fit. Not only would it sit too tall, but the wall under the window was not deep enough to sink a unit into. I don't want to open the crawl space to the rest of the basement because that would mean additional heating costs- since the basement is used for more than storage. Over the last several days, the crawl space has almost uniformly been 15 degrees cooler than the master bedroom above it- even with the very variable outdoor temperatures as of late. The crawl space was about 15 degrees warmer than the temperature outside, but I honestly did not track that often enough to see how variable this temperature change was- only noticing this on the milder days of late. When I am advised to insulate the exterior wall, "I would add 2" Polyisocyanurate board on the out side wall below grade and down to frost depth" does this mean on the exterior of the house or on the inside of that exterior wall? The exterior wall is mostly butted against a poured cement driveway, although the rear portion and back wall are surrounded by lawn. I appreciate the range of feedback here. There are obviously several ways to increase heating efficiency and retention. Rob - Long Beach, NY

Definitely more of a white noise category, than something really annoying, Mags438. We do keep ours on Lo (except for a "kick-start" on Hi on super cold, or damp-chill mornings/evenings). We find ourselves bumping up the TV volume when the kick-heater fans are going (as we do when we run the range hood), but we find ourselves needing to do so more and more often as time marches on! :) MarthaSINY, I don't recall any significant increase in our electric bills after we started using our kick heaters. Also, we vaulted the ceiling(s) in the kitchen/DR (now LR), during our reno, which probably caused an increase in our central a/c needs during the summer, or requiring more heat to warm up the space in the winter. So, if our bills did rise, it would be hard to say what caused them to do so. Again, I don't think the fans increased our electric bill by much, if at all. This post was edited by cat_mom on Sun, Sep 14, 14 at 22:12

Furnace or boiler? Depending on what model, 20 years may be nothing. Replacement with something more efficient depends on a lot of things. How long will you have the house? Assuming boiler/hydro-air, Is there excess capacity in the hydro-air so lower water temperatures can be used for a significant time? How large are the hydro-air units compared to the low end of a new modulating-condensing boiler? If you really want a condensing boiler, propane may price out better because they can be made more efficient, condense more. Combination boilers (instant hot water + heating) tend to be larger and it is difficult to match them to smaller heating loads. (The zone is relevant here more than the whole house.) Compared to oil and propane, electric water heaters may cost you less in the long run. That would solve your leaking indirect tank problem cheaply too. If your boiler is not a modern, cold-start boiler, it will save you a lot in the summer too since you can shut the boiler off. If I were in your shoes, I think that I'd hire a local energy rater to help you pick the low-hanging fruit with respect to saving your coins. You might be best off switching to electric hot water, and keeping the boiler for now while making improvements in the house envelope. In the intervening time, you can think about what to do about heating and hot water. Heat pumps, air sourced, are working in colder and colder weather all the time. Ground-sourced have been there for some time, but are a costly investment. You might be able to keep your boiler and use it for back-up for the next 30 years in that role. Someone has to look at some numbers based on your fuel costs to make any rational decision.

Thanks, this is all really helpful. Unfortunately AC isn't really a major concern with the home, as it's in the mountains and stays quite cool in the summer. Heating is obviously my bigger cost. The one question I have about cooling and the room being unconditioned is, doesn't there have to be some heat since this is where my plumbing begins? The basement is only around 3.5 feet underground and has windows so I imagine it will get cold in the winter. I am installing a mini split system in the whole home and was going to put one head in the basement, mainly to keep an ok temp throughout the winter. Is there any risk that the heat pump water heater could make the basement too cold for the plumbing? Or too difficult for the heater to keep the basement above 50? I just bought the home and it was a foreclosure and the pressure tank and some pipes are cracked from freezing. So I'm trying to come up with a setup here to A) keep utility costs down and B) prevent the plumbing from freezing again. All your insights are so helpful!