Do you have forced air heat? Is there a cold air return in the basement? If not, install one. This will pull the colder air from your basement floor and pass it through the furnace. It will also dehumidify the basement during the summer. Also, make certain the windows are tight - or cover them with some of the shrink-wrap plastic to reduce air infiltration.

During the intermediate season when the furnace is not running regularly you might want to run the furnace fan continually.

I've done the above but also have auxilary heat from an electric fireplace. You possibly will need to install another heat source if the above is insufficient.

Yeah, its hard to enjoy a basement in winter without some heat down there. I put a direct vent gas stove in mine and couldn't be happier. It heats up quick and it's convenient.

-jasper

When our dehumidifier is running down in our basement I find it puts out just enough heat to take the chill out.

thank you all for the info. we did turn the fan on , and do notice a difference. now we are wondering...is keeping the fan on going to ruin the furnace? do we just keep it on continually?

No, keeping the fan on will not damage your furnace. And, it is not expensive - perhaps $10 per month. Your temperature will be even throughout the house and the filter will capture more dust so keep it clean.

During extreme hot and cold outdoor temperatures, I make it a practice to run the blower. You can decide what works best for you.

our basement is completely finished

But without proper insulation I bet!

We are getting ready to have our basement finished. We live in Michigan in a 2-year old colonial and plan to finish about 1500 sf of a 1900 sf basement. We want to ensure that we don't end up with a cold finished basement. For now, it will primarily be a play area for two small children. A heating contractor came by today to assess the situation. He suggests reworking my ducts to add a third zone for the basement by tapping into one of the two existing furnaces. Is this a valid approach?

Is this a valid approach?

Not sure? Problem with going with his solution is you won't know whether it will work or not until it's too late. After the drywall goes up, theres no going back.

I wanted make sure after all is said and done, my basement was warm and comfortable. So I decided to add the gas stove for insurance. And glad I did!

You may want to post in the Heating and Air conditioning forum as well. Hopefully the pros will chime in. Good luck.

-jasper

When re-working your ducts to heat a basement, it will be better to have the supply vents as close to the floor as possible versus having them come from the ceiling. If they come from the ceiling you will feel colder than if they come from the floor (or low on the walls).

Hmmm...adding a return to the basement...will that not pull that musty moistcooler air throughout the house in the winter....?

can you describe this....does it smell, whats the cost, can you fire it up just when the kids go down....?

I live in Michigan. and heat primarily with a Hearthstone wood stove. It does a fine job at both comfort level and in saving precious fuel oil.
My problem is that I have very little heat in the cellar-basement area.
Is there any way I can move warm air from the main floor to the basement? At least enough air to take the chill off downstairs.this basement area is about 1200sq ft.
Thanks

Proper insulation, good windows and tight seals make for a warm basement. I remodeled my basemaent and added heating ducts and a nice fireplace. My basement is now warmer the my upstairs and this is with all the ducts closed and the fireplace off. This is a ranch house and I live in MI. I installed my insulation in the winter and could not believe all the cold air that was coming in.