Heating a house with a basement (how much, houses, water heater)

[joesanphoto]

I was looking at 2 different homes in west babylon, one has an unfinished basement and the other is on a slab.. Would one cost more to heat than the other, maybe a dumb questions- so sorry in advance if it is!

Thanks!

[PANIC]

Originally Posted by joesanphoto

I was looking at 2 different homes in west babylon, one has an unfinished basement and the other is on a slab.. Would one cost more to heat than the other, maybe a dumb questions- so sorry in advance if it is!

Thanks!

I have a finished with baseboard and keep it set at 60 degrees unless i'm having company or a party then i'll bump it up a touch , cold air falls so if you keep the unfinished basement door closed you should have no problem with extra heating costs . If you choose the home with the unfinished basement and convert it to a part of the house that is used everyday then it will increase the cost

[LifeInLI]

there are too many variables to give you a flat out answer. However, I prefer homes with basements because you can access most of the piping below if you need to. I am assuming both houses have baseboard radiation?

[rocafeller05]

Your not talking that much of a difference. A basement is underground which is roughly around 56 degrees year round. So less heat is requirred to keep it warm, but it is more area to heat.
A slab on grade has more heat loss b/c its on the top of the land where the temps are concurrent with the outside temps.

Bottom line = go with the basement!

[JudiPatooti]

I'd guess that having a basement would make heating the house cheaper because that's usually where the oil burner and all the warm piping or the duct work that carries the heat is located, so the basement itself is usually a lot warmer in the winter than the ground outside is.

[Kbinspections]

Strictly speaking.....a slab house is less expensive to heat than a house with a basement.

[ohyeahbro]

if the basement is unfinished as is mine, and in west babylon as is mine, you probably dont have any heat down there so heating it wont be an issue until you install some heating system. I plan to finish it soon but I will probably buy a space heater for when I use it.

[krewat]

If you're really worried about heat loss through to the basement, insulate the floors. However, that makes the basement colder in the winter, and depending on what kind of boiler (and hot water heater) you have, can make things worse, or break even.

Then, on the other hand, the basement is usually cooler than the house in the summer, and insulating the floors can make your AC bill (electric) higher. How much or if at all? It all depends

Best bet, insulate the pipes.

Compared to a slab, though, again, it all depends. I notice that in a house with a slab, the floor drains the heat right out of my feet during the winter.