"Sid Waine" wrote in message
...
Have ranch with full finished basement, central A/C. Utility room
with oil furnace & oil-fired water heater at rear corner. Ducts run
through basement ceiling to vents on main floor. No vents in basement,
thus, no heat, making recreation area unusable and home office
uncomfortable in winter. If I tap into ductwork and install vents in
basement ceiling to get some heat I will be taking heat away from main
floor, especially the den at corner farthest from the furnace.

Anyone have any suggestions to resolve this problem? How can I get
heat in the basement w/o losing heat on the main floor? Additional
heating system for basement? Cost-effective? Cost-prohibitive?

Thanks much for any and all input.

Sid Waine

Yes and no. My parents had a home in Iowa with a similar situation. Yes
putting heat in the basement reduces what is forced upstairs. No the heat
rises eventually warming the rooms above. What we did was open the vents
when we were down there and closed them when we were not.
It really helped the heating/cooling bills for them when I insulated the
ducts.