My hubby bought me one for my sewing room, which is in the basement. Mine has a heater element, too. He made a small wooden stand for it to keep it off the carpet just in case it leaked, but it has a water pan in the bottom that he empties occasionally and there's been no overflow problem. Since these units vent out through a tube to the window, be sure you check around the window for air leaking in. A small piece of insulation will take care of any problem. I love mine and was able to get in my sewing room all through our very cold winter. In a few weeks when July is miserable, I'll switch to air-conditioning!