Heating an Unheated Basement (Help or Hurt Efficiency)
Posted: Mon 31 Dec 2007, 18:51:11
Currently at my two story house, my natural gas furnace only heats the first and second floor and no heat is directed into the basement (basement is unfinished). The basement is currently un-insulated other than around the rim-joist where the cinder block basement walls meet the sill plates of the first floor walls.
I did a large sealing project last year and plugged every hole I could find in the house and sealed all my exposed heating ducts. I did get a nice efficiency gain of about 20-25%, but my house still "feels" chilly when heated to 68F when occupied.
Do you think there would be any improvement in the comfort of the house and energy efficiency if I were to do install a vent where the heater could direct heat into the basement? I wonder if the cold, unheated basement is contributing to the general sense of chilly in the house.
As an alternative, what if I either insulated the basement cinderblock walls. Or, what If I insulated the bottom of the first floor (aka the basement ceiling) between each first floor joist?
Keep in mind the following:
-I do not want to do anything that will decrease my efficiency gains. Either keep it neutral or increase performance.
-My first floor is hard wood floors.
-When possible, I heat using my wood burining fireplace insert on the first floor (maybe this will change the recommendation). But I still heat roughly 50-75% of the time using my furance.
I did a large sealing project last year and plugged every hole I could find in the house and sealed all my exposed heating ducts. I did get a nice efficiency gain of about 20-25%, but my house still "feels" chilly when heated to 68F when occupied.
Do you think there would be any improvement in the comfort of the house and energy efficiency if I were to do install a vent where the heater could direct heat into the basement? I wonder if the cold, unheated basement is contributing to the general sense of chilly in the house.
As an alternative, what if I either insulated the basement cinderblock walls. Or, what If I insulated the bottom of the first floor (aka the basement ceiling) between each first floor joist?
Keep in mind the following:
-I do not want to do anything that will decrease my efficiency gains. Either keep it neutral or increase performance.
-My first floor is hard wood floors.
-When possible, I heat using my wood burining fireplace insert on the first floor (maybe this will change the recommendation). But I still heat roughly 50-75% of the time using my furance.