New Harman Accentra 52i - help with heat distribution (home floorplan included)

[jaytylerwilliams]

Hi everyone, been lurking for a while while considering a pellet stove and finally got mine installed. Great info on here! I am looking for tips on how to get better heat distribution in my house. Facts below:

• Stove: Harman Accentra 52i fireplace insert
• Location: Vermont - appx 8000 HDD
• House: purchased this year after heating season. Built in 1949. 8" thick slate veneer on 3 sides, vinyl on back. Story and a half cape. Exterior walls only 2x4 (bummer), batting insulation. Full poured concrete basement, unheated. I sealed and insulated rim joists. Hoping to heat entirely with pellets, but main system is boiler/hot water baseboard (cast iron). I air sealed attic as best I could, existing insulation about R-35. Looking to blow in another R-20 or so of cellulose. Windows are original Pella casement, single pane + energy panel.

Here is the house floor plan. One thing to note is the hall from the LR to the DR is not quite as straight as the picture shows. Stove is in the fireplace on east side of house. I am looking for tips and hints on how to get the heat out of the living room and down into the dining room and also upstairs to the bedrooms. It has not been very cold (down into the 40s a few days), but the far rooms are quite a bit cooler, need to get some thermometers to know exactly how much cooler. Any help is appreciated! I do have some ideas but wanted to see if anyone had any experience with a layout like this. Thanks!

 

[jaytylerwilliams]

Clarification on the hallway. There is actually about 2 feet of wall from the closet by the den to the door opening and less wall between the opening and the other closet such that the shot from the LR to the DR is not as straight. There is also a 1 foot or so dropped soffit right at the entry way to the DR.

 

[John Fortier]

Hi ya,
Ceiling fans in our place make a big difference. Also have a small Vornado fan on top of a china cabinet pushing air from living room to the back side of our house where the kitchen, bath, office and master are located. We also have a cape and the stairs are in the living room so the heat rises up there always warm if we leave the doors open. We are also experimenting with a fan pointed at the stove to move more air...so far seems to work but it has not been very cold time will tell on this one. Hope this helps some.

 

[Irish916]

Have you run the 52i with the fan on high? I just had mine installed and I've found that the fan on high throws heat a pretty far distance. I'm also guessing you don't have any type of central air system in the house? I'm planning on circulating my heat by using the fan in my central system. If you don't have that option, you probably just need to use a fan. The issue you're going to have is that any heat pushed out of that living room is just going to run upstairs since the foyer is right there. Hot air rises, so the chances of you pushing that back to the west side of the house are very low. I have a similar issue with my set up. While my living room is more centrally located, I still can't heat those far bedrooms. I plan on supplementing with small space heaters in those rooms that I can turn on/off when I need them. Far more cost effective than firing up the heat pump for me- especially since I pay mini bar prices for electricity these days.

 

[jaytylerwilliams]

Thanks John and Irish. Ceiling fans are definitely something I am considering, especially at the top of the stairs. Irish, I have run the stove with the fan on high but there is still a very noticeable difference in temperature especially in the far rooms. I have been doing the fan blowing towards the stove thing and I think that definitely helps.

What about cutting a vent from the LR into the master BR?

Other thing I have considered (maybe this is crazy?)...is cutting a vent in DR floor, ducting through basement with an inline fan, returning into the (floor of the) LR a cold air return. I would then mount a fan in the doorway of the LR, or above doorway through the wall fan blowing air towards foyer. Would this create an effective convection loop?

 

[John Fortier]

Jay,
I cut a vent from stove room ( living) into kitchen. It looks nice and does a little bit to help. Hold a match in front of it and flame barely flickers. First check building code in your area as far as floor vent, though with duct work I don't see why it would not be allowed. Not sure myself if that would work, others may chime in. Seems like you would be pulling cool air around as heat rises.

 

[bags]

Jay,
Welcome for starters. I would start with some cheap Walmart box fans $15 each. That way you can move them around and experiment. It might take more fans. I do have a central HVAC system with duct work. I put the heat pump in with AC etc; I was running my fan in the central system and it does move air throughout. I have a two story also and have since played around with box fans and ceiling fans and am getting warm air everywhere without the central system's fan on this way. My floor plan is more open than yours which helps. I am using 4 ceiling fans and 2 box fans so you have a reference.

Running the fans full blast does not necessarily move hot air faster. High speed can create drafts. Try placing a fan like you said to pull out of the living room first and foremost. This would likely work as a good starting point. Ceiling fans will help too but cost more and do not move around. It is all about moving the air. Equalizing negative and positive pressures (hot areas vs. cold areas). Shut off rooms you don't need or use?? If you use all then leave everything open. Play around with multiple fans and different locations running on low 1st. Cut holes as a last resort. You might be able to do it?? Your floor plan is not very open and that isn't helping but where there's a will, there's a way. You could also ask a HVAC guy what they think. Do you know one? If not it might be worth having one stop by anyway. Good Luck Dude!

 

[DMKNLD]

Using small floor fans to blow the cold heavier floor air towards the warmer stove room equalizes my room temperatures much better than trying to blow the warm air towards the colder rooms.

 

[gunshyb]

Im new to all this but i can say i agree with the above post. At first i tried blowing the heat out of the stove room which resulted in my stove room being a sauna. I then I took 1 small fan put it in the dining room on the floor blowing cold air alond the floor into my stove room and it made a huge difference. The heat is much more even throughout the house entire house.

I have a cape and the heat seems to make its way upstairs without issue. But if i had to i would first try a fan blowing down the stairs.