Hello, I am planning a basement remodel in St. Louis, Mo. The house (built in 1920s) has an unfinished basement of about 780sqft (26x30). There is no heating or cooling in the basement, and it stays cool during the summers. However, during the winter the basement temperature can drop to a minimum of around 55-60. I'd like to make the basement more comfortable to use and am thinking of starting with the basic fixes like insulating around the rim joists, covering the floors with thick rugs (we get occasional water issues), and adding better insulated windows. Now, how should I heat the basement? I am thinking of opening a register in the HVAC duct to help heat the basement (I will of course get opinions from HVAC experts about this), but we do occassionally get a power outage in this old town, especially during the winters. This means no electricity...and we currently do not have a gas or non-electric heat source. I was thinking of adding a fireplace of some sort in the basement. Would some kind of ventless gas fireplace be a good idea for the basement ? Any tips or advice from the gurus here? Thanks!