All,
Going to start planning to finish our basement - it will be about 800sqft finished, the rest is storage. What do you guys use to heat your basements? We will not be down there everyday - just a place to hang now and then or for the kids to play. My in-laws had theirs done and they used Electric wall heaters - which do a real nice job of warming up their similarly sized space. One guy I talked to said to tap into my existing heat system - but I am not a fan of that as the thermostats are on the first and second floor, so I do not want it running in the basement when I am not there etc. What have you guys done - and how did you do it? Thanks - I appreciate any feedback.

 

Just tap it into the existing duct work. When the basement is not in use, close the vents.

 

w0rd

 

^ cheapest most effective solution.

 

If you've got the cash, you can also put in an mechanical damper to add a separate zone for the basement.

I put a vent into the supply duct when I finished my basement. Since it's the closest vent to the heater, it heats up the basement very quickly. I can open it for a while then close it once the room is warm.

Make sure you provide a return as well. I also found that by just opening the door to the mechanicals (heater, h/w heater) it keeps the rest of the basement nice.

 

This is how my basement is setup, I only open the vents when I'm down there

 

Just tap into the existing heat. Its not like the basement will be telling your furnace to turn on because its colder. Hell it may even improve the heating in your house as heat rises and will make your flooring more comfortable . I have 4 vents dumping into my basement. 2 in the finished area 2 in the unfinished area. I close the dampers on them in the summer time so the AC doesnt dump into the already cool basement.

 

I tapped into the existing when finishing mine, but the county inspectors (should you opt to even bother with them... cough, cough) don't care for that much. You're supposed to run a different trunk, recalc the air load, etc.
I understand fluid flow and heat transfer well enough to know that was stupid overkill for my application, so I just tapped in. Room vents are undersized compared to main and upper levels, due to the reduced need for heating and cooling in my basement (it's well insulated, and almost entirely below ground all around).
My vents stay open at a tweaked setting at all times (slightly different for winter and summer), and it keeps the rooms (theater, kid's playroom, laundry, bathroom) comfortable all the time. And, not so much as a hint of "basement smell."

 

I would say electric wall heaters are the way to go. Using the existing heating and closing the vents will be less efficient because even with the vents closed a lot of heat escapes.

 

Its more efficient with the vents off the hvac. Much less energy used when compared to electric running all the time. .

 

Did you mean motorized?

Setup your basement as a zone...

The end results is now whenever the temperature in your basement is under the stat setting that damper will open and let warm air blow during the heating cycle... then close when it reaches the stat temperature.

Get a (normally closed) motorized damper, 24v transformer and a cheap simple (very simple) stat... The wiring is really simple ...

You can do this for less than $100...

Simple Wiring.... ground goes right to a wire on the damper, then you put the thermostat daisey chained on the +24... that's it...

so

Here's some of the products I'm talking about....

Here's a (normally closed) damper with a 24v transformer...
http://www.smarthome.com/307107C/6-I...y-ZC106/p.aspx

Then you just need a cheapy simple thermostat to stick on the wall.... Don't spend more than $20 unless you want a specific look. Just set the stat in heat mode and connect one wire to the (R) +24 terminal and the other to (W) call for heat....

http://www.globalindustrial.com/gcs/...eate-google_pr




Also,you might want to take the +24 from the (W) terminal on your furnace so the damper only gets power during the heating cycle... otherwise you'll waste electricity holding the damper open even when the furnace isn't on... Need to do your homework though and read the load ratings and see if that terminal can support the (5w max) of the damper....

 

My brother has a wall mounted natural gas heater that he uses. heats up the room pretty quickly and he only turns it on when people are down there. It has a thermostat you can set in order to control the heat. This may not be feasible though depending on where your natural gas line is and if you are able to vent the heater.

 

Going to go for a combo of what we have discussed here...I will have a few wall heaters (in-laws have them and work quite well) and I also have a duct that I have never used since day one moving in - due to its location on the first floor. So instead of having it point up and running to first floor, it will now elbow down instead and use it in the basement. This way I have the option of keeping some air flowing and A/C (I am always warm) if needed. I also already have a return in the basement - so the air will keep fresh. Will keep ya posted... thanks all.

 

i installed 220 electric baseboard and turn it on when we go downstairs.