Auxiliary electrical heat.
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Cargo Master
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,476
Likes: 224
From: Frequently frozen MN
Auxiliary electrical heat.
Still looking for a way to keep my basement warm without wood. I'm too old to feed a wood stove any more. Anyway, propane options worked out to be about 5K(!) for something that would meet code.
I looked into these 'electric fireplaces'and got a couple of surprises
1. They all seem to be 1500 watt units
2. They quote heating areas all the way from 400 to 1000 square feet -- what! They're all about the same BTU output. You can argue about radiated and convection and slow heat cool vs rapid heat cool, but I doubt if there's anything like that much variation. I think that heating a thosand square feet with a 1500 watt unit is pretty much a pipe dream.
So I was wondering about a few things
1. I'm thinking that I might want to put in a decorative unit and put a baseboard unit in the same general area to actually make it reasonably warm . This would probably require me to up my electric service -- has anybody done that? I have no idea how costly that would be.
2. Does anybody recommendations for electric fireplaces? -- or baseboard heaters for that matter.
Thank,
hj
I looked into these 'electric fireplaces'and got a couple of surprises
1. They all seem to be 1500 watt units
2. They quote heating areas all the way from 400 to 1000 square feet -- what! They're all about the same BTU output. You can argue about radiated and convection and slow heat cool vs rapid heat cool, but I doubt if there's anything like that much variation. I think that heating a thosand square feet with a 1500 watt unit is pretty much a pipe dream.
So I was wondering about a few things
1. I'm thinking that I might want to put in a decorative unit and put a baseboard unit in the same general area to actually make it reasonably warm . This would probably require me to up my electric service -- has anybody done that? I have no idea how costly that would be.
2. Does anybody recommendations for electric fireplaces? -- or baseboard heaters for that matter.
Thank,
hj
Super Moderator
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 34,492
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How many circuits are down there? You need two 15, preferably 20 amp circuits with little to nothing else on them to run the 1500W heaters.
We had a plug in oil radiator heater years ago. Pretty good, but it used the whole 1500 watts.
What do you have for a main service? Can you get from the panel to the basement room?
We had a plug in oil radiator heater years ago. Pretty good, but it used the whole 1500 watts.
What do you have for a main service? Can you get from the panel to the basement room?
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 1,398
Likes: 6
How high of a temp are you looking at for the basement? Would any of the heat generated be able to go up into the house? Finally, would a wood pellet stove be an option or does your age preclude that also? Your electric heaters will consume a lot of energy. Do you have propane already at the house or is the 5K for a new install? My sister lives in MN and she said her propane bill in winter is about $800/ month.
Hotshot
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 11,950
Likes: 5,076
"Frequently Frozen Minnesota" is the entire state. Can you be more specific? 
The only thing that I really like about Minnesota in winter is the Winter Carnival. Actually flew my wife there a few years ago so I could show it off...
Is the basement ducted to any other part of the house? If so, a small fan that pulls from the duct could raise the temperature in the basement from "winter coat required" to "sweater weather".
Do you have gas or electric hot water? If you've got a natural gas heater (or can upgrade to one) you might consider doing that and using a hot water loop to and air handler in the basement. In my last house we heated 3,700 square feet with one of these systems and it provided a very nice, uniform heat in the house without venting the gas exhaust into the house and it was about 98% effective. Only a very small loss in venting the exhaust out of the house. You could do the entire house this way with each floor pulling hot water and running according the floor's thermostat.
The only thing that I really like about Minnesota in winter is the Winter Carnival. Actually flew my wife there a few years ago so I could show it off...Is the basement ducted to any other part of the house? If so, a small fan that pulls from the duct could raise the temperature in the basement from "winter coat required" to "sweater weather".
Do you have gas or electric hot water? If you've got a natural gas heater (or can upgrade to one) you might consider doing that and using a hot water loop to and air handler in the basement. In my last house we heated 3,700 square feet with one of these systems and it provided a very nice, uniform heat in the house without venting the gas exhaust into the house and it was about 98% effective. Only a very small loss in venting the exhaust out of the house. You could do the entire house this way with each floor pulling hot water and running according the floor's thermostat.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 1,398
Likes: 6
Do you have gas or electric hot water? If you've got a natural gas heater (or can upgrade to one) you might consider doing that and using a hot water loop to and air handler in the basement. In my last house we heated 3,700 square feet with one of these systems and it provided a very nice, uniform heat in the house without venting the gas exhaust into the house and it was about 98% effective. Only a very small loss in venting the exhaust out of the house. You could do the entire house this way with each floor pulling hot water and running according the floor's thermostat.
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Joined: Jun 2014
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Cross-Country
Joined: May 2016
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I second the pellet stove idea!!! low power consumption (100ish watts when running), very low maintenance. 40 pound bags of pellets stack and store clean, no bugs, spiders and such. “P” vent, the chimney is 4” single wall pipe, very easy to run. My Northern California winters are nothing like yours, but with outside temps in the 20-30’s, my pellet stove running on low, keeps the house in the low 60s. And for reference, 40 pounds of pellets last approximately 40 hours. Also, ash from a 40 pound bag will literally fit in your hand!! My ash pan, which is on the larger size will hold an entire ton of pellets before needing to be emptied.
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