Negative Pressure and Best Location for a Wall Grate (bottom or nearer to the top)?

[NothingLikeWood]

Any of you experience negative pressure in your basement? We have a basement stove and a tight house. The OAK helps out but I have to be carefull with the dryer and built in vacuum as they can put the house into negative pressure (the HRV won't make up the difference). If you have negative pressure, is that why most of my heat stays downstairs? How have you fixed your problem?

As mentioned, we have a basement install which heats the family room well but enough heat doesn't always come upstairs to the living area. An additional stove on the first floor of the house isn't in the cards. I just went to the local store to inquire about a blower for my stove to help get the heat moving out of the basement into the upper floor and the dealer talked me out of it. He said my fans (one pointing into the stove room and one pointing into the stairwell) wouldn't do any better than the blower. I was impressed (didn't want to make a quick sale I guess).


He suggested an alternative by bringing more air downstairs to help with airflow. I could do it by putting a grate in the floor to help the heat from my basement circulate upstairs. Well, I am not comfortable putting one in the floor so as in a previous post of mine I considered a grate in the one in the stairwell wall (opposite end of the house where the stove is located). If I stand in that stairwell I can feel the heat moving up the stairs so I thought one at floor level (just above the baseboard) into the stairwell wall (the one you look at while going downstairs) would help bring more cold air downstairs. Would that be better than higher in the wall? I can't go to the top of the wall as this opening will open up into a broom closet on the second floor.

Thoughts?

 

[begreen]

I'm sure the stove is in a nice location for the family room, but as you have no doubt discovered, it's in a lousy location for heating upstairs. The layout and location of the stairs on the opposite side of the house works against good natural convection. A stove in the living room is the best solution here. If that is not possible, then I would consider putting a good, stout register with a fusible link damper in the bedroom hallway. The reason being is that heat is going to want to convect upward from the stove and return down the stairs.

 

[LLigetfa]

I very much doubt that a pressure deficit would have any bearing on the heat staying in the basement. Providing a small make-up air vent close to the stove could reduce the deficit but unless the air is escaping upstairs, it would do little to distribute the heat.

Providing passive vents between floors require that you work with the natural convection. Cold (heavy) air generally moves easier given it is more dense and the cold air then displaces the hotter air. Think of cold air as water. I use a blower to move cold air to my stove.

Keep in mind the risk of fire propagation between floors and consider using fusible dampers. Also keep in mind the possible effect on an existing furnace or air conditioner when they are in use.