Need heat source


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Old 03-01-08, 02:22 PM
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Need heat source

I just purchased a house within the last month and it has a finished basement. It is approx 20 x 20 and is unheated. My parents basement (in the same general area of NJ) is not heated and it pretty much stays around 67-68 degrees at all times. Mine is much colder than that and I was wondering if anyone could provide any suggestions as to how to provide a little heat for the basement. Would space heaters provide enough heat for this type of basement? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
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Old 03-01-08, 08:02 PM
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you parent's basement's,,,

underground & yours isn't ? ? ?,,, ambient earth's about 64f so that might acct for the temp differential,,, space htrs'd work - propane/lng gas're better'n kerosene or were when i lived in hackettstown.
 
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Old 03-04-08, 05:58 AM
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Recently completed my basement a few months ago and being slightly larger than your space here is what I have done.

- Basement is entirely underground
- Have one duct running off the main trunk - this provides heat while the main furnace is on.
- Have one return duct for proper cycling of the air.

With the above scenario the basement stays at a fairly consistent 64-67 degrees however I also added an in-wall electric heater (220v 3000 Watts) with a thermostat placed in the middle of the room. With this scenario the room maintains a nice 67 degrees.

Since your basement is already finished do you have access to add a vent from the main furnace?
 
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Old 03-04-08, 09:47 AM
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Originally Posted by shaun4912
Recently completed my basement a few months ago and being slightly larger than your space here is what I have done.

- Basement is entirely underground
- Have one duct running off the main trunk - this provides heat while the main furnace is on.
- Have one return duct for proper cycling of the air.

With the above scenario the basement stays at a fairly consistent 64-67 degrees however I also added an in-wall electric heater (220v 3000 Watts) with a thermostat placed in the middle of the room. With this scenario the room maintains a nice 67 degrees.

Since your basement is already finished do you have access to add a vent from the main furnace?
Shaun,

How are those in wall electric heaters? I am also in the same boat in refinishing my basement but i have a few rooms i need to heat. I have hot water baseboard/gas furnace for the upstairs but I wanted to go electric in the basement. We were going to do the electric baseboard but was reading up on the in wall electric. Are you pleased with yours? They do have fans in them, correct? What kind/brand do you have?

Thanks
 
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Old 03-05-08, 07:49 AM
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My house is all electric (no gas lines in neighborhood) so I was deciding between either an in-wall electric heater or electric baseboard. I decided against the baseboard due to the fact that they take up so much room and don't really look good.

I installed a Cadet brand heater and couldn't be happier. It sits in the wall and takes up a small amount of space yet when working it puts out a large amount of heat and it's remarkably quiet considering it has a fan to push the heat out. While the model I have has a thermostat built in I decided to install a wall thermostat toward the center of the room because it is more accurate and allows me to keep the room at a consistent 68 degrees.

Again because I also have a duct from my main furnace the wall heater isn't the main source of heat but a supplemental source. Total cost for unit and thermostat was approx $240.
 
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Old 03-05-08, 10:43 AM
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Originally Posted by shaun4912
My house is all electric (no gas lines in neighborhood) so I was deciding between either an in-wall electric heater or electric baseboard. I decided against the baseboard due to the fact that they take up so much room and don't really look good.

I installed a Cadet brand heater and couldn't be happier. It sits in the wall and takes up a small amount of space yet when working it puts out a large amount of heat and it's remarkably quiet considering it has a fan to push the heat out. While the model I have has a thermostat built in I decided to install a wall thermostat toward the center of the room because it is more accurate and allows me to keep the room at a consistent 68 degrees.

Again because I also have a duct from my main furnace the wall heater isn't the main source of heat but a supplemental source. Total cost for unit and thermostat was approx $240.
Excellent!!! you just sold me.... I am looking to put 1 in each room but maybe 2 in the big living room which is about 450sq feet.....

Quick follow-up... Where did you install them. I was reading that the in walls should be installed in the inner walls opposed to the baseboard which should be install on an outside. Also, do you have the model of your cadet? i was looking at them also. Homedepot carries them. I thought I heard they were loud but I guess they aren't!

Thanks!
 
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Old 03-05-08, 02:09 PM
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I went with the 3000 Watt 220V in the SL Series of heaters to heat my basement space which is similar to yours at approx 450 sq ft. You can see all of the info on their website at Cadetco.com. I ordered from one of their online dealers.

I also debated on the placement of the heater and with my room being all open with walls along the perimeter of the basement I ended up putting it approx 16" above the floor in the middle of the longest wall (as centrally located as possible). Seeing that the application was for the basement I figured that because it is placed well below the frost line the concern over losing conditioned air at this point (due to no insulation behind it) was a moot point seeing that an underground basement is already geothermally balanced. Yes, the unit is quite quiet.

Good luck.
 
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Old 03-05-08, 04:59 PM
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Originally Posted by shaun4912
I went with the 3000 Watt 220V in the SL Series of heaters to heat my basement space which is similar to yours at approx 450 sq ft. You can see all of the info on their website at Cadetco.com. I ordered from one of their online dealers.

I also debated on the placement of the heater and with my room being all open with walls along the perimeter of the basement I ended up putting it approx 16" above the floor in the middle of the longest wall (as centrally located as possible). Seeing that the application was for the basement I figured that because it is placed well below the frost line the concern over losing conditioned air at this point (due to no insulation behind it) was a moot point seeing that an underground basement is already geothermally balanced. Yes, the unit is quite quiet.

Good luck.
Shaun,

Thank you VERY much for your input!!! MUCH appreciated!

Take care....
 
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Old 03-11-08, 05:47 AM
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Originally Posted by shaun4912
I went with the 3000 Watt 220V in the SL Series of heaters to heat my basement space which is similar to yours at approx 450 sq ft. You can see all of the info on their website at Cadetco.com. I ordered from one of their online dealers.

I also debated on the placement of the heater and with my room being all open with walls along the perimeter of the basement I ended up putting it approx 16" above the floor in the middle of the longest wall (as centrally located as possible). Seeing that the application was for the basement I figured that because it is placed well below the frost line the concern over losing conditioned air at this point (due to no insulation behind it) was a moot point seeing that an underground basement is already geothermally balanced. Yes, the unit is quite quiet.

Good luck.
Quick question!

I noticed the fan forced air electric heaters have different wattages. I wanted to put 2 of the Cadet registers (2000 watts a piece) in the living room running off of one thermostat. I am having a hard time finding a thermostat for fan forced air electric heaters that allow for a wattage of 4000 total or higher! Can you please tell me what thermostat you use?
 
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Old 03-17-08, 07:51 AM
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Hello,

For my basement I elected to use the double pole T410 Series thermostat. It's a pretty basic thermostat and works well. If you are having trouble finding the best one for you I have had some good luck in dealing with their customer service -

Shaun
 
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Old 03-17-08, 12:10 PM
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Originally Posted by shaun4912
Hello,

For my basement I elected to use the double pole T410 Series thermostat. It's a pretty basic thermostat and works well. If you are having trouble finding the best one for you I have had some good luck in dealing with their customer service -

Shaun
hi Shaun,

thanks! I did call them and they recommended the 410 and 438.. i picked up the 438's that were little bit more but will do. Thanks!
 
 

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