Nov 21, 2023 01:38 PM
Maybe C2 can offer an opinion on the following……
My home is a one storey bungalow with an unfinished basement, concrete foundation and floor. During the winter I allow heat from the forced air furnace into the basement. On the simple principle of warm air rising I’m of the opinion this keeps the home more comfortable, lowers fuel bills and increases furnace efficiency. Warm air circulating in the basement also prevents mold & mildew from forming.
If I tell people this they look at me like I have four heads. Basically warm air from the higher floors will have less tendency to cool off and fall thus creating a longer time interval between furnace turning on.
I installed a couple of heat registers on the basement ductwork that I just manually open throughout the entire heating season. Easy for me because ductwork from furnace is very accessible in an open basement.
I have a main floor door that I can close to isolate the basement. If I open up the heat registers in the basement and close the door overnight then when I open the door following morning it’s not hard to notice just how warm it is at top of the stairs. By closing door I actually prevented heat from entering the upstairs area where I really needed it. To compensate, the thermostat turned on the furnace more often than if I’d left the heated basement door open. So I sleep with basement heated and door open, I want that heat to rise into the living area and slow down the fall of cold air.
My heating bills, I burn natural gas, are quite reasonable. I think same might work for a two storey house with heated basement. Be a battle between cooler higher air falling and warm air rising.
My home is a one storey bungalow with an unfinished basement, concrete foundation and floor. During the winter I allow heat from the forced air furnace into the basement. On the simple principle of warm air rising I’m of the opinion this keeps the home more comfortable, lowers fuel bills and increases furnace efficiency. Warm air circulating in the basement also prevents mold & mildew from forming.
If I tell people this they look at me like I have four heads. Basically warm air from the higher floors will have less tendency to cool off and fall thus creating a longer time interval between furnace turning on.
I installed a couple of heat registers on the basement ductwork that I just manually open throughout the entire heating season. Easy for me because ductwork from furnace is very accessible in an open basement.
I have a main floor door that I can close to isolate the basement. If I open up the heat registers in the basement and close the door overnight then when I open the door following morning it’s not hard to notice just how warm it is at top of the stairs. By closing door I actually prevented heat from entering the upstairs area where I really needed it. To compensate, the thermostat turned on the furnace more often than if I’d left the heated basement door open. So I sleep with basement heated and door open, I want that heat to rise into the living area and slow down the fall of cold air.
My heating bills, I burn natural gas, are quite reasonable. I think same might work for a two storey house with heated basement. Be a battle between cooler higher air falling and warm air rising.
