[Nealtw]

I agree that it is a personal choice but shouldn't there be a chart that shows the difference between R5 and R 10 compared to an un insulated floor. I have electric baseboards and believe me the heat goes up and it is cold air that run across the floor to feed it.

 

[user_12345a]

I agree that it is a personal choice but shouldn't there be a chart that shows the difference between R5 and R 10 compared to an un insulated floor. I have electric baseboards and believe me the heat goes up and it is cold air that run across the floor to feed it.

Warm air from baseboard heaters goes up, but the air at the floor should be close to room temperature once the place is warmed up.

You can calculate floor heat loss though with different r-values.
Someone more knowledgeable than me could calculate floor surface temperature.

But what matters for comfort is heat loss from the feet, if they';re in the mid to high 90s and the slab is in the 60s, insulation will make the floor feel warmer.

But comfort is very subjective - everyone has different circulation.

 

[Lion Heart]

Sorry for the delay - I could not find my laser temperature reader anywhere!!! My better half found it for me in less than 5 minutes once I asked her, typical!!!

Ok, so the basement wall height is 8 feet. The ceiling above has no insulation, and of course no insulation on walls or floor. Poured concrete, very tidy and completely dry.

The top two feet of the basement walls (approx) are above grade. The frost line in my location is listed as 4 feet. So the bottom two feet of the walls and the floor should all be below the front line.

• So, outside was sitting around 0c.
• The top part of the walls (above grade) around 3c.
• The bottom two feet of the walls around 4.5c.
• The floor was 4.5 to 6c (average 5.2c approx)
• The ambient room temperature was near to 10c (it always seems to between 8c and 11c regardless of how cold it gets outside)

There was some variance as you went around the basement on different walls/areas of the floor, but that was the general average reading.

No real heating source down there currently. The oil furnance is down there, but that should be efficient and not leak 'too' much heat.

How do those figures sound to you guys??

 

[Nealtw]

You floor temps seem a little low, have you checked it for accuracy?

 

[Lion Heart]

I haven't actually, no. What floor temp would you expect with the ambient temp and other factors?

 

[Fix'n it]

can you check a neighbors similar house ?

do you have windows down there ?

 

[Lion Heart]

Unfortunately the houses here are all very different, in both design and age! Yes, there are two windows on one end (above grade, not full size, basement type windows!), one on another end, and on one side wall. I took the temps from the wall without a window.

 

[Nealtw]

Unfortunately the houses here are all very different, in both design and age! Yes, there are two windows on one end (above grade, not full size, basement type windows!), one on another end, and on one side wall. I took the temps from the wall without a window.

Inside the fridge should be 40 F.
The floor should be the same as cold water fresh from the ground after running the water a few minutes.
I would expect the floor to be around 10C.

 

[Lion Heart]

Should the floor temp be somewhere near the ambient temp?

 

[Fix'n it]

Should the floor temp be somewhere near the ambient temp?

mine is 1-2f lower, but that is within tolerance of thermometer variance, so it could be the same

 

[Nealtw]

Should the floor temp be somewhere near the ambient temp?

You would like that but it will be closer to the temp of the dirt on the other side which will be the same as the cold water coming into the house.