With our finished basement there is a bit of a chill. Unfortunately we have forced air gas heat and it just doesn't do the job of warming the basement without baking the rest of the house, even when we do try to balance the vent outputs.
We'd like the look of a fireplace and have decided to go with an electric unit. Unfortunately we're not up on what to look for. I know that the lower the wattage and higher the BTW, the more efficient the unit is, but what else do I look for?
If you mean BTUs, then the higher the watts, the higher the BTUs. Every electric fireplace is about 100% efficient. The things to worry about are safety (anything with UL listing should be ok), looks, price, and adjustable thermostat (which most have). Making sure you don't get one that's too big, otherwise it won't heat evenly. If you plan on using it a lot, and if your basement has an outside wall, consider a gas fireplace. Another option is electric baseboard heat.
Unless the lower level is CLOSED OFF (yes, a door), you'll never get BOTH levels at a proper comfort level at the same time. A half-assed "solution" is to run the blower motor continuously. My evidence for the effectiveness of this is anecdotal: It seems to work for me.
Unfortunately, heat tends to rise and, unless you close-off the lower level, all attempts at downstairs area heating will do a better job of heating the upstairs.
Our first split entry home had a fully-enclosed stairwell with a door at the bottom. It stayed MUCH warmer down there than in the house we moved into in
1991 - another, albeit half-again larger, split entry with three baths and fully finished basement. There is NO door (yet) at the bottom of the stairs on THIS house and it's cold down here. (Where my computer/office/mess is.)I run a small, electric space heater at my feet. An electric space heater is a perfectly viable accessory to an otherwise beautiful space during the heating season. They are very flexible in their use and safe if used properly. Remember that electric resistance heat is virtually 100% efficient, ignoring what little light the elements emit. In many areas it is also 100% expensive. However, with the price of natural gas RACING to meet electrical heat expense parity, there is more reason than ever to go electric.
My brother and sister-in-law have a VENTLESS natural gas fireplace. They love it and haven't been asphyxiated yet. However, based on my experience with my own gas log, I believe such things are significantly more expensive to operate than the home's main heating system and judicious application of a small, portable electric space heater when/where needed.
How difficult will it be for the electrician to run the heavy wiring needed for the electric fireplace? (The same question would be asked if it were gas-fired, too.)
I've successfully heated basements by installing registers in the supply trunk duct.
There's no reason to use electric heat unless a utility uses mostly nuclear and/or hydro power. If they don't, you're paying for them to generate with gas or oil or coal, plus their profit. Electric is significantly more expensive than every other energy source for the amount of BTUs you get. Your brother and sister-in-law may not have died yet, but they're breathing in all the unburnt natural gas fumes, which can do permanent brain damage if they do it long enough. They can also become sensitized to those low pollutant levels over a long period of time. The higher and longer the exposure, the more the immune system breaks down. After they are sensitized to that pollutant, they will react to much lower levels. Brain cell damage and allergic reactions are especially bad for small children.
Plug-in electric space heaters are fire-hazards.
They cook & oxidize their plugs, with current near breaker trip-point. Unstable situation. Every now and then- poof, you're on fire.
Some Fire Marshalls will not allow them on certain institutional properties, period, for that reason.
JNot the answer you requested, but I've been on more than one job when a heating guy added a vent or two in the cellar. A heating and AC guy may be able to add a heat run to the cellar, and balance the heat that way.
Gas cheaper than electric in many places.
We were hoping for a "fireplace" look...
I wonder if there are any fake fireplaces out there than can connect to a forced air heat register..
It's that kind of thinking that causes .. Projects..
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