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ctilley79

Insulation Between Basement and Ground Floor

ctilley79
9 years ago

My basement is a conditioned space, as is the first floor. The basement has a suspended ceiling and the ground floor has wood floors. The home was built in 1976 and is probably under insulated compared to todays standards. My problem is as follows.

In the summer, the basement air conditioner never runs because the ground level air conditioning sinks directly to the basement. The ground level air conditioner is doing the work for two floors.

In the winter, the opposite is true. The basement heat runs much longer and heats the ground level to the point where the temperature will rise higher than the ground level thermostat setting. The ONLY plus side to this is when I do use our wood stove, the added heat to the ground level is welcome.

Questions:

Should I insulate the joists between the basement and the first floor? Will this make the home more efficient? Will it negate the desired effect that the wood stove provides?

With regards to the wood stove, is it feasible to add a filtered vent over the stove and tie it into the return for the ground level heat pump if I do decide to insulate? Would this reduce the workload of the ground level heat pump by adding in heated air?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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