Hello everyone,
since I couldn’t find any thread under the keywords “basement envelope” in the title, I’m quickly creating one myself:
Current status: A single-family house of about 170 sqm (1,830 sq ft), two stories, is planned with 36 or 42 cm (14 or 17 inches) insulated bricks (probably with perlite). We have not yet carried out the heating load calculation according to the energy-saving regulation, but that will happen in the next few weeks. Nevertheless, at the moment, a ground loop heat pump with ring trench collector is the favorite heating system, along with the planned underfloor heating in all rooms on the ground floor and upper floor. Additionally, a central ventilation system with heat recovery is planned for all rooms on both floors.
Now to the main point. Originally, I had planned the ventilation system with heat recovery also for all basement rooms.
Since there are two home office spaces, a hobby room, and corresponding children’s rooms planned on the ground floor and upper floor, we cannot do without a basement that would include a guest room (also desired), heating and utilities, and storage spaces (please no “you don’t need a basement” discussions, just constructive contributions on whether the basement with the only partially used living space “guest room” should be within or outside the thermal envelope).
Now my question is whether the mostly uninhabited and only rarely used basement (actually only on a few days when the guest room with visitors is needed, but I don’t know exactly how many days per year on average) should be included in the thermal envelope or not. At first, my gut feeling says no, which would mean that the ground floor slab / basement ceiling should be insulated accordingly.
But then, for ecological reasons, I obviously cannot implement the ventilation system for the entire house (including basement). The question is also what kind of heating I should install in the basement guest room (underfloor heating outside the envelope is a no-go). Additionally, how strongly should the basement be insulated if it is outside the thermal envelope (perimeter insulation)?
Of course, in that case, I would have to insulate the basement entrance door accordingly to prevent heat loss or cold air infiltration.
Or is it more cost-effective and ecological to include the mostly uninhabited basement in the thermal envelope, connect it to the central ventilation system, and also install the underfloor heating circuits there? And then insulate the externally waterproofed concrete basement with perimeter insulation? What do you recommend here?
Best regards
ludwig88sta
since I couldn’t find any thread under the keywords “basement envelope” in the title, I’m quickly creating one myself:
Current status: A single-family house of about 170 sqm (1,830 sq ft), two stories, is planned with 36 or 42 cm (14 or 17 inches) insulated bricks (probably with perlite). We have not yet carried out the heating load calculation according to the energy-saving regulation, but that will happen in the next few weeks. Nevertheless, at the moment, a ground loop heat pump with ring trench collector is the favorite heating system, along with the planned underfloor heating in all rooms on the ground floor and upper floor. Additionally, a central ventilation system with heat recovery is planned for all rooms on both floors.
Now to the main point. Originally, I had planned the ventilation system with heat recovery also for all basement rooms.
Since there are two home office spaces, a hobby room, and corresponding children’s rooms planned on the ground floor and upper floor, we cannot do without a basement that would include a guest room (also desired), heating and utilities, and storage spaces (please no “you don’t need a basement” discussions, just constructive contributions on whether the basement with the only partially used living space “guest room” should be within or outside the thermal envelope).
Now my question is whether the mostly uninhabited and only rarely used basement (actually only on a few days when the guest room with visitors is needed, but I don’t know exactly how many days per year on average) should be included in the thermal envelope or not. At first, my gut feeling says no, which would mean that the ground floor slab / basement ceiling should be insulated accordingly.
But then, for ecological reasons, I obviously cannot implement the ventilation system for the entire house (including basement). The question is also what kind of heating I should install in the basement guest room (underfloor heating outside the envelope is a no-go). Additionally, how strongly should the basement be insulated if it is outside the thermal envelope (perimeter insulation)?
Of course, in that case, I would have to insulate the basement entrance door accordingly to prevent heat loss or cold air infiltration.
Or is it more cost-effective and ecological to include the mostly uninhabited basement in the thermal envelope, connect it to the central ventilation system, and also install the underfloor heating circuits there? And then insulate the externally waterproofed concrete basement with perimeter insulation? What do you recommend here?
Best regards
ludwig88sta