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Posted by Bill on December 06, 2005 at 00:30:27:
We have a new 1836 Sq.Ft. ranch in northeast PA with a full basement, most of which is above grade. There's R-38 insulation in the attic, R-19 in the walls and R-5 in the basement walls. The furnace is a "Weil-McLain CGi" (HWBB), with an output of 85,000 BTUs.
The only heat in the basement is residual heat from the furnace, hot water heater and the copper tubing in the baseboard system, that is in between the risers going up to the main floor. There is no insulation between the basement and the floors above and the floors get a little chilly.
I have a couple of questions, if you wouldn't mind.
1. I plan, eventually, on ncreasing the basement wall insulation to R-24 (adding another R-19). In the interim, however, I thought about cutting into the baseboard tubing that exists in the basement and installing sections with fins to warm up the floor above. I was told that you can buy just the aluminum fins and install them on the existing piping. I haven't been able to find the fins though. Do you know if they are available and if this would work?
2. I would eventually like to add another zone for the basement. Will the 85K BTU furnace be able to handle the additional zone, or is that going to be too much?
Thanks for any help that you might be able to offer.