Heating a house....

Doug especially out where you're at, I'd seriously want something "for backup." If nothing else, consider an LP room heater or "through the wall" and get one with a so called millivolt system (self powered) so it can operate if the power is out.

I would think if you have a large enough pellet unit, sized for the house, maybe consider putting a floor grill in above it, etc, you could do OK

Frankly, in my opinion, you'd do better if you had a separate heater, whatever the fuel, for both basement and main floor.

Let's say you had two pellet units, and either 12V backup or just a generator. Even if one unit quits, or if you lose power, you can still have some heat.