Hi--we find electric heating to be much less hassle than propane. Not only do you not have to fill up your tanks, you don't have the wide temp swings or the noise that you have with propane. We use our electric fireplace and some small, well-placed electric space heaters and remain comfortable in even the coldest weather. If we get cold, a quick warm-up with the furnace usually solves the problem. As far as the basement, we find that using a 100 watt incandescent bulb (that gives off heat) does a good job of keeping the basement warm. We have also used a "milk house" heater when it is really cold. This heater has a calrod encased in a metal housing with holes to let out the heat. Plugged in to a temperature sensing outlet (available in hardware stores), it turns on when needed and does a great job. Hope this helps!
