Can one stove heat a three-story house?

We've had great success with our PE Summit heating a majority of three floors. It's a 1920s Colonial with a converted attic into master bed. Four bedrooms on the second floor. We're not using fans to move the air, it seems to do just fine without the extra help. One benefit is that we have lots of interior doors, so we can shut off rooms that are not in need of heat. First floor is obviously the warmest. Second floor stays moderate, good for the kids. Third floor can hover in the low 60s when the temps are in the 20s; high 50s when we're below zero. We're OK with those temps, so if you're looking for something warmer, you might need to look at supplemental heat on the upper floors. Regardless of the stove's capabilities, at least it's dumping in BTUs that would have to be made up with fossil fuels otherwise.

Sprinter said:

Does this work well for you? I've heard mixed reviews about using existing central duct. But I think most of the negative comments I've heard are when uninsulated duct under the house is used. It would seem that if all the duct is in the house, it would have a good chance of working.

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I dont have any ductwork,my heat is hot water baseboard. If you have ductwork ,that should do a better job of distributing the heat to the upper floors. Main reason it works is because my wood stove is capable of putting out a lot of BTUS over a fairly long period of time. It does over heat my basement though which is one major drawback to long term use.

I will be attempting to heat three floors with a Progress Hybrid. Two stories and a finished attic that is in the process of being converted into a master bedroom/office. While I won't be able to share useful results until well into next winter, the folks around here heat homes similar to mine with a wood burner and it behaves much the same as drewmo described. I don't mind a cool bedroom myself, and I feel confident the first and second floors will be kept very comfy. We shall see...

Its not hard to heat the upper floors with a small electric space heater when you are already at 55-=60 degrees. I have builtin heater already in my 2 3rd floor bathrooms.

St. Coemgen said:

First off, sq ft is a 2 dimensional measurement. Square feet may be how you buy and sell a house, but you heat a volume of air in a house, not a 2 dimensional floor space.

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Yes but also heating isn't just about volume either, it is about how fast heat leaks through all the walls, and floorplan has a lot to do with that too. If a lot of your square footage is in additions, you could have a lot more wall space to leak heat than a square shaped house. A real simple example is a 20x20 square house, 400 sqft, 20+20+20+20= 80 linear feet of wall. You could also have 400 square feet that is 80x5. Thats 80+5+80+5=170 linear feet of wall, or over double the wall space for the exact size square footage. Square houses should be more energy efficient compared to houses with multiple wings or additions where 3 sides of every room is an exterior wall. Plus a lot less money insulating and finishing the less wall footage of a square home.

This is why square footage is a very general guidline. According to my taxes, I think I have around 2700 sqft. Not including unfinished basement. It takes me 2 stoves to heat, plus a third if I want to attempt to heat basement. Two of those stoves are greater than 3 cubic foot.

bucko158 said:

Now to look more deeply into some of the powerful beasts mentioned in this thread, like the PE Summit, the Harman TL-300 and the Summers Heat 50-SHSSW02. I really like the view window of the Summers Heat, the Automatic air setback also seems like something I would enjoy. Thanks again.

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IV been admiring that Summers heat with the huge viewing door myself. I dont have any idea how it heats ,but im pretty sure its one of the the best views available. If i didnt already have 4 EPA stoves already id own one today out of pure curiosity.The auto setback is a rare feature as well

bucko158 said:

I'm also kinda drooling over the view on this Osburn 2200, not sure it is strong enough for the task though.

http://www.myfireplaceproducts.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProdID=OB02211&Lang=EN

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I'm not nearly as knowledgeable about the various stoves that would fit the bill, but I'd recommend a stove that you can load N/S. Having the side walls to help get the most wood into the firebox without worry of logs rolling into the glass will help you get the most heat possible.

drewmo said:

I'm not nearly as knowledgeable about the various stoves that would fit the bill, but I'd recommend a stove that you can load N/S. Having the side walls to help get the most wood into the firebox without worry of logs rolling into the glass will help you get the most heat possible.

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Thats true for the top loaders too. I can pack the TL-300 right to the very top.

Seasoned Oak said:

Its not hard to heat the upper floors with a small electric space heater when you are already at 55-=60 degrees. I have builtin heater already in my 2 3rd floor bathrooms.

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I heat three floors (basement, first and second) with a woodstove in the basement, and this is what I have to do. The coldest month for us added 50 dollars to the electric bill. My temperatures are about what Seasoned Oak gets. 90 near the stove, 75-80 in the kitchen above the basement stairwell, 70-75 everywhere else downstairs, and 60-65 upstairs.

This is with a house that has no insulation in the walls and something like r-13 insulation covering about 1/4 of the attic (the most accessible part). Air circulation isnt great, however I run a fan blowing down into the basement through a vent leftover from the old coal furnace that's located near the opposite side of the house from the stove and right below the stairwell to the second floor. This seems to help. Setting a fan blowing down from the second floor to the first also helps.

NC-30 is a solid stove, I burn a lot of pine in mine. I run the stovetop at 550 to 650. good for about 2000 Sf if insulated. I know ill be buying one of those Summers heat huge door stoves down the road, just for the view.

CHECK OUT THE EQUINOX BY HEARTHSTONE STOVES.

I've got a two story house that I heat wood only ( propane and heat pump backup). The floor plan on both first and second floor is open. The stove is a woodstock progress hybrid. Usually I keep the double doors to the hall closed. The first floor will stay about 75 F , the second about 65. If I get too hot I open the double doors and let the heat flow upstairs ( big orange arrows)

When the hall doors are closed , the hall way gets cool on the first floor. To mitigate that problem I have a fan located in the center that will blow hot air down, this warms it up quite a bit

The house is open plan, and the steel chimney goes straight through the living area on the second floor, which helps quite a bit