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Heating new basement, electric or propane? Art Todesco 12-02-2008
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Posted by Art Todesco on December 2, 2008, 9:38 am
I am building a new home in the western
mountains of NC. I have a full
basement, of which, the front is at
ground level and the rear is completely
underground. The house will be heated
via heat pump and backup heat strips.
The basement is divided into 4 spaces, a
2 car garage and 3 rooms. The 3 rooms
are framed but not drywalled ... not
yet, anyway. Check out:
http://picasaweb.google.com/actodesco/FranklinHouse#5253349935785230802
The front large room is for a future
game room or the like. The back room
will probably house the water heater and
HVAC stuff. The "shop", wood and
electronics, will either be in the back
room or the right side room. I can
drywall off either of these area for the
shop. I am leaning to using the back
room, as the HVAC will shed some heat
and it would be easy to add a register
for both heat and cooling. I could add
an electric heater for winter. I could
also add a non venting propane heater as
there will be a propane tank for
cooking. I see torpedo propane units
and wall mount propane heaters. The
torpedoes are fan forced, which seems to
be a plus, and seem to have higher
outputs. I wouldn't consider a kerosene
unit as I have "smelled" them before.
The wall heaters usually don't have
fans. Is there a reason the propane
torpedo would not be good for this
application? The other thing about the
torpedo is that it can be moved to the
garage when needed as it is basically
portable. Do they put out more
pollutants than the wall heater? BTW,
the usage might be a few hours a day,
several days a week, but that's about
it. Any comments?
Thanks,
Art

Posted by Joe on December 2, 2008, 10:19 am
> I am building a new home in the western
> mountains of NC. =A0I have a full
> basement, of which, the front is at
> ground level and the rear is completely
> underground. =A0The house will be heated
> via heat pump and backup heat strips.
> The basement is divided into 4 spaces, a
> 2 car garage and 3 rooms. =A0The 3 rooms
> are framed but not drywalled ... not
> yet, anyway. =A0Check out:http://picasaweb.google.com/actodesco/FranklinH=
ouse#5253349935785230802
> The front large room is for a future
> game room or the like. =A0The back room
> will probably house the water heater and
> HVAC stuff. =A0The "shop", wood and
> electronics, will either be in the back
> room or the right side room. =A0I can
> drywall off either of these area for the
> shop. =A0I am leaning to using the back
> room, as the HVAC will shed some heat
> and it would be easy to add a register
> for both heat and cooling. =A0I could add
> an electric heater for winter. =A0I could
> also add a non venting propane heater as
> there will be a propane tank for
> cooking. =A0I see torpedo propane units
> and wall mount propane heaters. =A0The
> torpedoes are fan forced, which seems to
> be a plus, and seem to have higher
> outputs. =A0I wouldn't consider a kerosene
> unit as I have "smelled" them before.
> The wall heaters usually don't have
> fans. =A0Is there a reason the propane
> torpedo would not be good for this
> application? =A0 The other thing about the
> torpedo is that it can be moved to the
> garage when needed as it is basically
> portable. =A0Do they put out more
> pollutants than the wall heater? =A0BTW,
> the usage might be a few hours a day,
> several days a week, but that's about
> it. =A0Any comments?
> Thanks,
> Art

Don't even think about a non-vented heater f any kind. They are
intended for more or less open areas like barns and construction
sites. Any decent shop will have a ceiling mounted gas or propane
vented heater like the Modine Hot Dawg, my personal favorite. At the
price, you can use two in separate locations to cut down on heating
too large an area. Don't be deluded about the potential usage being
limited. Experience shows that a well appointed shop will be used far
more than ever planned, especially with new construction such as
yours.

Joe.

Posted by Kevin on December 2, 2008, 5:21 pm
I came across this website.

For some cases, electric fares well with propane.

http://www.buildinggreen.com/calc/fuel_cost.cfm

You will want to adjust for prices in your area. Our electic is about 13
cents per kwh and propane is currently about 2.70



Posted by Paul Oman on December 4, 2008, 11:53 am
Joe wrote:
>
>> I am building a new home in the western
>> mountains of NC. I have a full
>> basement, of which, the front is at
>> ground level and the rear is completely
>> underground. The house will be heated
>> via heat pump and backup heat strips.
>> The basement is divided into 4 spaces, a
>> 2 car garage and 3 rooms. The 3 rooms
>> are framed but not drywalled ... not
>> yet, anyway. Check
out:http://picasaweb.google.com/actodesco/FranklinHouse#5253349935785230802
>> The front large room is for a future
>> game room or the like. The back room
>> will probably house the water heater and
>> HVAC stuff. The "shop", wood and
>> electronics, will either be in the back
>> room or the right side room. I can
>> drywall off either of these area for the
>> shop. I am leaning to using the back
>> room, as the HVAC will shed some heat
>> and it would be easy to add a register
>> for both heat and cooling. I could add
>> an electric heater for winter. I could
>> also add a non venting propane heater as
>> there will be a propane tank for
>> cooking. I see torpedo propane units
>> and wall mount propane heaters. The
>> torpedoes are fan forced, which seems to
>> be a plus, and seem to have higher
>> outputs. I wouldn't consider a kerosene
>> unit as I have "smelled" them before.
>> The wall heaters usually don't have
>> fans. Is there a reason the propane
>> torpedo would not be good for this
>> application? The other thing about the
>> torpedo is that it can be moved to the
>> garage when needed as it is basically
>> portable. Do they put out more
>> pollutants than the wall heater? BTW,
>> the usage might be a few hours a day,
>> several days a week, but that's about
>> it. Any comments?
>> Thanks,
>> Art

-------------

Here in NH I've seen a number of 'barns converted to businesses' etc
that use some sort of small modern kerosene (pressurized???) system that
they all seem to love. Not the old blower kerosene heaters that I've
used etc and that you are thinking about. (I personally use propane for
my 'outbuildings'). So, look into modern kerosene options, you might be
surprised at the new technology.

Paul

Posted by Ralph Mowery on December 2, 2008, 7:44 pm

>I am building a new home in the western mountains of NC. I have a full
>basement, of which, the front is at ground level and the rear is completely
>underground. The house will be heated via heat pump and backup heat
>strips. The basement is divided into 4 spaces, a 2 car garage and 3 rooms.
>The 3 rooms are framed but not drywalled ... not yet, anyway. Check out:

You may want to go with propane just so you will have a source of heat if
the power goes out.



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