How to heat basement?

[Jeff A.]

I'm in the Souther Maryland area house hacking with a SFR. While I am occupying the main and upper levels, I plan to rent the walk out basement. It is all ready except for the fact there is no heat down there. I moved in last summer and it keeps cool even on the hottest/humid of days.

I'm considering two options: electric baseboard heaters or ductless mini split system. On one hand, the mini split seems to be considerably more money but would be a better comfort serving both heat/air. While the baseboard heaters would be cheaper to buy/install however I'm concerned about their efficiency in the long run. 

Does anyone care to weigh in on which might be the better way to go about heating a basement apartment?

[Theresa Harris]

You can get some baseboard heaters that are efficient.  Make sure you get the right size for the rooms and tell tenants to either close doors to create a separate zone or to keep the baseboard heaters within a few degrees of each other (I'm in Canada and they recommend a max of 3C between heaters in the same zone).  I have one unit with the ductless unit and two others with baseboard heaters.  The only complaint we've had with the baseboards was recently where a new tenant was trying to heat the entire house with one unit-no idea why.