On May 8, 7:20*pm, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:
"willshak" wrote in message
The outside of the basement is already insulated, with dirt.

Do some research and see how much heat is being lost to that dirt. *It is
not a very good "insulator" at all.

Per Ransley & Ed..... dirt isn't much of an insulator (but better
than concrete)

R values per inch

"dirt" ~.25
concrete ~.08
wood ~1.2 (depending on type)

In areas where the frost depth is substantial you'll have dirt temps
up against your foundation wall in the 32F to 0F (or lower).

Heated spaces will loose lots of heat through soil contact. That's one
reason why above ground well insulated spas / hot tubs are so much
cheaper to heat than in-ground energy hogs.

Without decent insualtion on the basement walls you can lose a lot of
energy heating the soil mass around the basement. How much depends on
the local soil temps during the heating season.

cheers
Bob