We have a 1500sqft walk-out basement, partially finished. It has two small bedrooms, a bathroom in a corner, utility room in middle back & large family room along one side. We've been told by an insulation guy that the walls and ceiling are well insulated. The floor was concrete-slab that the previous owner laid with laminate. Heating is radiant-cove in each room. We bought the house over Christmas and, since we aren't using the basement yet other than storage, kept the heating at about 50 degrees just since we were concerned about the pipes (which aren't exposed - the ceiling is drywalled everywhere.) Our heating bill ended up over $500 a month - we had a lot of below zero days this past winter. I gotten it down to $85 this summer so I know it was mostly heating, although I'm sure a lot of it was for the main floor, too. I've put in a request with the power company for an energy audit (we've been waiting since March for them to come) - I really don't want bills like that again this winter!

My father-on-law has recommended not heating the basement at all this winter - that the pipes should be fine without it. I'm a little nervous about that idea but those electric bills were insane.

The problem is the way the stairs lead down to the basement, they end with steps leading to both the right and left side of the basement. There is no door and putting one in would be tricky - we're thinking we'll probably end up removing the steps on one side and walling it over at some point but we're not ready to tackle that yet. But if we aren't heating the basement this winter, I'm thinking we'll need to block off the base of the stairs somehow to help with the chill? Plastic? A heavy blanket? I'm at a loss here...