Best way to distribute the heat

[Fuut Master]

So what would be the best way to get the heat distributed through the house? My Wood stove is setting where the pic says gas logs. Also is this considered an open floor plan? I have read on the forums that if I use the fan on my central heat and air that I lose a lot of heat. I do have ceiling fans in all rooms. Also ecofans. Are they just a gimmick or should it be something to really consider? The ceilings in the wood stove room are 12 feet. The rest of the house is 9 foot ceilings. Thanks guys.


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[jcapler]

I ran my HVAC fan all burning season last year. I am on the fence on if I thought I noticed large heat distribution from it. I also have ceiling fans in all rooms and my ceiling height is similar to yours. Where I thought I noticed the best heat movement was on the second floor. In my mind the second floor benefited the most from my fan running. I am not sure if I will do it again as our electrical bill was noticeably higher running the fan all winter. I can speak on the ecofans but have been interested in them. It will be interesting to hear what people have to say about them.
Short story, I won't run my HVAC fan all winter again but will probably use it once in a while to move some heat around. To add a little bit of info. The HVAC is brand new it was replaced last summer, I also have added a few return air vents at ceiling level in the stove room to help grab that hot air.


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[kennyp2339]

Every house is different when it comes to establishing convective loops, many have to have a trial and error experience because what works for some doesn't work for others due to existing insulation, different ceiling heights, amount of air sealing and general floor layout with added furniture.
The best rule of thumb is to never try and push "hot air" away from the stove, its always better to push colder (more dense air) towards the stove. Some people decide to run a small box fan to help boost the convective loop, others like myself can run a ceiling fan in reverse and in coordination with the stove blower have an easy time distributing the heat to larger portions of the house.
Looking at your floor plan I would suspect its fairly open, the master bedroom maybe the hardest to heat but it shouldn't be that bad since most people like cooler bedrooms when sleeping.
What type of stove are you going with? If your going with an epa tube stove, depending on the model you may have to deal with higher temps radiating off the stove when loading the stove up since they do burn a little bit faster and hotter (look at the efficiency rating of the stove and realize when the air is shut down into cruise mode that secondary air is still feeding into the stove and primary air isn't completely shut off either, this is so the stove can maintain the clean burn characteristics, hotter temps so the reburn system works) a stove with a cat and adjustable t-stat to control the air will give a much slower steady longer burn with a much more even heat (not chasing the dragon) Its just something to consider

 

[Highbeam]

It looks like an excellent floor plan for heating with wood and a nice, central stove location. I would call that "open" since all rooms open into the great room in the middle.

You'll be just fine. No need for extra circulation unless you're one of those folks that insists on even temperatures within a degree throughout the home.

 

[begreen]

Agreed, the house should heat pretty nicely with the stove in that location. If you like the bedrooms a bit cooler then it should be finre. The MBr bath will be the coolest. Maybe put an electric towel warmer in there for a little supplemental heat? If you do find the MBr a bit too cool, remember that it's easier to move cold toward the heat. Is there a basement in the house? If so a dedicated, insulated air moving duct with a quiet fan could pull air from the MBr bath and blow it into the main stove area.

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

A ceiling fan in the same room of the stove can help distribute heat to adjacent rooms quite a bit by creating a circular air movement and also by preventing stratification which is especially important if that room has higher ceiling that lead to nowhere. On the other hand, ceiling fans in remote rooms are counter-productive because they increase heat transfer into exterior walls by removing the boundary air insulation on walls (and floors/ceilings also).

This is another situation where a mini-split heating/cooling system integrates particularly well with wood heat because mini-splits can efficiently target the heat output in a way that typical ducted systems can't.

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

Agreed, the house should heat pretty nicely with the stove in that location. If you like the bedrooms a bit cooler then it should be finre. The MBr bath will be the coolest. Maybe put an electric towel warmer in there for a little supplemental heat? If you do find the MBr a bit too cool, remember that it's easier to move cold toward the heat. Is there a basement in the house? If so a dedicated, insulated air moving duct with a quiet fan could pull air from the MBr bath and blow it into the main stove area.

That's a good idea. It might even work without a basement if there was sufficient room in the crawlspace.

But bathrooms need more heat than most rooms, particularly if you have two people taking daily showers. I like the towel warmer idea with the major disadvantage that electric resistance heating is terribly wasteful. I rarely turn mine on for that reason. I think some other form of heat is needed. And most central heating systems are not designed to integrate with wood heat very well.

 

[begreen]

And most central heating systems are not designed to integrate with wood heat very well.

It doesn't come on too much during 24/7 burning, but during shoulder seasons our central heating works quite well with the heat pump system. Very well sealed and insulated ducts and plenums running through a conditioned space makes the difference. Good tip on the ceiling fan, that should help.

 

[Fuut Master]

KennyP the stove I have is the Hearthstone Mansfield. Begreen I do not have a basement so that's not a concern. Hibeam I am not one of those folks. I like a cool bedroom. Woody I'm not sure I'm tracking on the mini split comment, but I think I am on the ceiling fan comment. Your saying to run the fans in the stove room but not in the bedrooms?

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

Woody I'm not sure I'm tracking on the mini split comment, but I think I am on the ceiling fan comment. Your saying to run the fans in the stove room but not in the bedrooms?

Well, you can try running the ceiling fans in the bedrooms but, if it's cold outside, it will probably increase your heat loss.

Mini-splits have no ductwork, there is generally a unit in each living space or they can be placed only in rooms where supplemental heating is desired. They are especially useful during the shoulder heating seasons where a woodstove might produce too much heat because they are even more efficient when outside temps are somewhat mild.

 

[Fuut Master]

Ah gotcha now. I will have to experiment with the fans and see what works best. I have looked at mini splits for some time now. If my central heat and air goes out I think I will replace it with a mini split