# Basement temperature



## CamperWill (Jan 1, 2014)

So I'm wondering what everyone keeps their basement temps at (without pellet stoves).

We have a raised ranch with a propane boiler from 1978 in the basement and we have our Englander 25-PDVC on the upper level. The basement is not finished, has R11 between the studs, and R-19 in the ceiling. The sill plate and rim joists are not insulated. 

Right now we are keeping it at 50F, would there be any benefit of going lower during nights and then setting it to 50F from 10am-6pm or would it just take to much energy to heat up during those times?


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## Jack Morrissey (Jan 1, 2014)

I have a similar house , though with a finished lower level that is rarely used except for the laundry room, and my wifes sewing room.  Our pellet stove is also upstairs and we don't have any heat on downstairs, except rarely used space heaters, and the temp stays within a degree or 2 of 50, even the coldest days..Im curious how cold your basement would get without any heat, you might not want to experiment though with frozen water pipes the result!!


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## bbfarm (Jan 1, 2014)

We do not have any heat in our basement.  Old fieldstone walls. I am curios to find out how cold it is down there but not enough to go down

It has been below zero forever this winter with temps at -30 with the wind chills at night

We have heat tape on the pipes under the kitchen because they are in a crawl space and freeze even when it's not very cold. They are about 20 feet away from the basement.


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## Pellet-King (Jan 1, 2014)

high 40's in my cellar now, and still my hybrid water heater is still running on heat pump


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## Enigma869 (Jan 1, 2014)

Unfinished basement in my house, with no heat.  I really couldn't tell you the temperature down there, because I don't spend any time down there, so don't really worry about what the temperature is.


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## jslinger (Jan 1, 2014)

I would be surprised if it went much lower than 50 with no heat at all.  We have a finished basement, with R19 in the walls, none in the ceiling, and the temps never get below 54.
I have the thermostat set at 50 and I don't think it has ever come on.  This friday should be a good test though, with a projected high of -2.  Our plate and joists are well insulated, so we have less of a chance of freezing pipes.  If you want to see how cold it will get, you might want to do it with no heat when the temps aren't too cold, to prevent freezing pipes.


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## john193 (Jan 1, 2014)

Ranch with unfinished basement.  No heat and the basement is a consistent 55-60 all winter.


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## iceguy4 (Jan 1, 2014)

CamperWill said:


> Right now we are keeping it at 50F, would there be any benefit of going lower during nights and then setting it to 50F from 10am-6pm or would it just take to much energy to heat up during those times?


 why would you want to use a "set back" thermometer?

I have an unfinished basement...It is zoned and is set at about 40°.   Since I run a boiler ,I use the basement as a "dump zone"


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## CamperWill (Jan 1, 2014)

My signifigant other complains that it's to cold down there at 50 so I can't imagine what she would say if it drops below that.

I know our basement drops below 50 as the boiler kicks on late at night and early morning.


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## GeHmTS (Jan 1, 2014)

If your basement is built in the ground like mine, it's naturally insulated by the surrounding soil so average temperatures are as reported here at ~10C to 15C with low humidity.  I don't live in the basement, so I don't regulate it, yet it's always a comfortable temperature when I travel down there for something.


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## iceguy4 (Jan 1, 2014)

CamperWill said:


> I know our basement drops below 50 as the boiler kicks on late at night and early morning.


  How do you know?





CamperWill said:


> My signifigant other complains that it's to cold down there at 50 so I can't imagine what she would say if it drops below that.


  I do ....she will say the same thing. LOL   cold is ...cold...  


Why is she down there?(in my house... THATS  "man land")  ...I think.....LOL  If she has  some reason (laundry...)  ...Have her turn it up while she is down there (maybe a programmable t stat will work if her time is predictable)    Also , with setback t stats,.... $$ is saved...no matter WHAT  energy is necessary to get from setback to normal temp.    Setting back at night is always productive because its normally colder outside at night.  The closer you can keep inside temp to outside temp the more $$ you save.


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## CamperWill (Jan 1, 2014)

I can hear the boiler kick on and it only kicks on if it hits below 50 down there. She goes down there to do laundry a few days a week. We have a programmable t-stat down there, just wasn't sure if it would be efficient to turn it down due to the amount of time required to get it back up to a comfortable (for me) temp. 

The only part of the basement in the ground is the concrete (3ft) and we have about 4-5ft of wall above that.


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## iceguy4 (Jan 1, 2014)

CamperWill said:


> due to the amount of time required to get it back up to a comfortable (for me) temp.


  I could be wrong (someone chime in if I am)    time to bring temp back up is(boiler running)  = to time going down(boiler not running)...a wash...  all the time on setback is your savings.   Also a boiler not short cycling (maintaining a set temp) is more efficient too...adding to the $$$ savings.
  My point...set backs have to save money


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## Harvey Schneider (Jan 1, 2014)

iceguy4 said:


> My point...set back have to save money


I think people get confused. You are absolutely right. 
The only down side to a deep setback is the inconvenience of waiting for the room to get back to a comfortable temperature. 
I suppose there is another down side. If my tools get chilled and I raise the temperature  they will get rusted because of the condensation that forms on them.


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## GeHmTS (Jan 1, 2014)

Condensation will depend on humidity which is generally lower in the winter months, so it's less of an issue.


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## Harvey Schneider (Jan 1, 2014)

GeHmTS said:


> Condensation will depend on humidity which is generally lower in the winter months, so it's less of an issue.


But, not really good enough. I warm up the basement and the air sucks moisture out of the concrete walls. It's almost like a slow water pump.  As the reheated air cools the moisture condenses on the coolest surfaces in the shop, my table saw and jointer. The basement is cold except when I plan to work down there. Then it goes from the low 50's to 68 and stays there for about 5 or 6 hours.
I run a dehumidifier in the basement even in the winter to keep the relative Humidity below 50%. It doesn't run as much of the time as during the summer, but still, it runs.


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## nick123 (Jan 1, 2014)

I have an indoor/outdoor digital thermometer that i use.The base station read out is in the living room upstairs and  I keep the outdoor sensor in the basement to keep an eye on the temp. It usually fluctuates between 46-55 depending on the temp outside. I have a field-stone basement and uninsulated house built in 1916. I paid like $15 for the therm at lowes.


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