In-Floor heating

[idoc4u]

I am in the process of finishing a basement and am considering not only running duct extensions, but also adding in-floor heating with electrical mats.

Does anyone have an opinion regarding forced air heat + in-floor heat VS forced air &/or electric baseboard heat?

I don't know how long it takes for the floor to heat-up using in-floor heat, or if it can be run (obviously in thin-set) under carpet squares.

The baseboard heat concerns me. Eventhough I have a sump pump with back up, what if the basement takes on water and I have baseboard heat?

Thanks in advance for opinions.

[jadnashua]

On a slab, if you don't have insulation under your slab and it is not dry (especially if there is any water flow), the efficiency of heating the slab will be poor. You can take the chill off, but you may not want to use it as the primary heat source. Putting carpet over top probably won't help. With a large mass, response tends to be slow. If the area floods, I'm not sure I'd want either in-floor electric or electric baseboard. You can get a lot denser heat transfer with hydronics. See what the others think...

[johnfrwhipple]

The heating wires are protected by GFI thermostats for the heating cable or matts. I'm not an expert but I believer this is safer than electric baseboard heaters.

I have looked into many different heating options over the past year and have chossen for my home to install an old school boiler and column radiators.

I found many wall hung electric fan heaters and electric radiator heaters available. If you are concerned with this install an electric wall hung heater a couple feet of the basement slab.

Good Luck.