Hi I just bought a comfortbilt hp22i insert and going be installing it this wk. Its going on 1st floor home has 3 floors not counting basement. House is a 3 floorcolonial. My house is a single family 3600 sqft home with hydro hvac system and oil bill is huge so trying help it out. Just wondering what I can do to try get most out of pellet stove so I don't need as much oil . I know pellets ain't cheap so not sure whats the better heat source.
What are you guys doing to help circulate heat to multiple floors
- Thread starter Miran587
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Heat rises, it don't fall...lol Your basement will stay cold no matter how warm the upper floors are, fact of convection. Add a couple fans to move the heat around but don't expect a 50K max input pellet unit to heat your home to a sustainable comfortable level because it won't. Multiple units might, but one unit, NO WAY, no matter how balls out you run it.
I use 50K BTU as my benchmark, yours may, in fact, be less and that is 50K input, not output. Typically biomass stoves are around 85% efficient, so that 50K drops to 42,5K 'actual heat output. Much, much less than your central heat plant output.
Biomasss stoves are SPACE HEATERS and will never replace a central heat plant, they will only lessen the heat load, nothing more.
Again, expecting ANY biomass stove to completely offset a central heat plant will result in disappointment for you.
I use 50K BTU as my benchmark, yours may, in fact, be less and that is 50K input, not output. Typically biomass stoves are around 85% efficient, so that 50K drops to 42,5K 'actual heat output. Much, much less than your central heat plant output.
Biomasss stoves are SPACE HEATERS and will never replace a central heat plant, they will only lessen the heat load, nothing more.
Again, expecting ANY biomass stove to completely offset a central heat plant will result in disappointment for you.
railfanron
Minister of Fire
As sidecar says no way it will heat that house. The stoves specs say it's rated at 50,000 BTUs. I expect your boiler/furnace is rated at 150,000 BTUs. If you run this stove at it's full rated output it will burn about 140lbs of pellets in a day or a little over 2 tons a month. Most stoves aren't designed to run at full tilt for more a couple of hours at a time so you probably won't be able to get more than about 30,000 output into the house. Let's say you end up burning 1 1/2 tons a month that will be about 375 a month for pellets and that will probably cut your oil bill by 1/3 at most but you will be adding 375.00 for pellets. If that was my house I would do an energy audit and see what areas can be improved upon and invest my money in those areas (more insulation, plug up cracks etc.) instead of a pellet stove. JMHO YMMV
Ron
Ron
tlc1976
Minister of Fire
I would imagine a house like that is quite compartmentalized. Lots of individual rooms on different floors. One stove won’t do it. One stove on each floor might but the rooms will never heat evenly. But as posted you’ll be going through a lot of pellets. And hauling them too. My stove is right at the entry door which makes it easier.
My house is 24 x 32 so not huge. Open floor plan and upstairs loft. 2 bedrooms with doors permanently open when being used. Other than a bathroom and laundry room just big enough to function, that’s it for living space. Stove is in the most open corner of the downstairs. Say it’s 75 in the corner with the stove. Center of the house is 70. Downstairs bedroom is 65. Loft is 70. Upstairs bedroom directly at the top of the stairs is 60-65. Haven’t used it in awhile so lately I keep it closed off. I’m fine with the temperature difference. I grew up with wood heat so I’m not picky about wide temp swings or uneven heat. But the farthest my heat has to go is 1 floor and 1 doorway away and it’s a considerable drop.
Heat won’t move down even with convection. I tried to get extra heat in my sealed crawl space once. Trap door open all day and it was near freezing and didn’t change. Had a temp probe down there to monitor the area where pipes would freeze.
Can you shut off heat to rooms you don’t use? Close registers or zone valves, and close off those rooms. As long as you’re not in danger of freezing pipes. That’s where I would start.
My house is 24 x 32 so not huge. Open floor plan and upstairs loft. 2 bedrooms with doors permanently open when being used. Other than a bathroom and laundry room just big enough to function, that’s it for living space. Stove is in the most open corner of the downstairs. Say it’s 75 in the corner with the stove. Center of the house is 70. Downstairs bedroom is 65. Loft is 70. Upstairs bedroom directly at the top of the stairs is 60-65. Haven’t used it in awhile so lately I keep it closed off. I’m fine with the temperature difference. I grew up with wood heat so I’m not picky about wide temp swings or uneven heat. But the farthest my heat has to go is 1 floor and 1 doorway away and it’s a considerable drop.
Heat won’t move down even with convection. I tried to get extra heat in my sealed crawl space once. Trap door open all day and it was near freezing and didn’t change. Had a temp probe down there to monitor the area where pipes would freeze.
Can you shut off heat to rooms you don’t use? Close registers or zone valves, and close off those rooms. As long as you’re not in danger of freezing pipes. That’s where I would start.
mtnbiker727
Feeling the Heat
It would be more useful to see the floor plan than the outside of the house.
If you have it in a room with an open stairwell, then much of your heat will climb the stairs, which can help warm the rooms up there, but will make it a challenge to keep the 1st floor rooms warm.
If it's not in a room with an open stairwell, it will make that room hot, and other connected rooms will be slightly warmer than if you didn't have the stove.
If you have it in a room with an open stairwell, then much of your heat will climb the stairs, which can help warm the rooms up there, but will make it a challenge to keep the 1st floor rooms warm.
If it's not in a room with an open stairwell, it will make that room hot, and other connected rooms will be slightly warmer than if you didn't have the stove.
mtnbiker727
Feeling the Heat
One of the most important factors is getting the air circulation needed.
Think of it this way: You need to get the cold air back to the stove room so that the stove can heat it up.
Think of it this way: You need to get the cold air back to the stove room so that the stove can heat it up.
You can run them balls to the wall for prolonged periods but, bad things happen inside. If the high limit don't kick, you'll surely warp the firebox.
mtnbiker727
Feeling the Heat
Yeah, but usually people are trying to blow warm air away from the stove, but it might be more simple to open up floor vents or something like that to allow the cold air to fall down.
Think about the rooms that you occupy the most frequently in your home and locate the stove close by if it works with your plan.
Depending on your layout, strategically placed fans or ceiling fans may help move the warm air around, but taking the time to really assess your needs and expectations now is a good idea.
I do most of my heating in an old farmhouse in a cold climate with my P61. My house is not well insulated- yet. My downstairs has wide doorways, so that helps.
My stove is placed in my dining room. It is a central area in my house, but not one we are in 24/7, so we don't mind that it is hotter in there than in the other rooms. It's nice to have a room that you can go in and get nice and toasty for a little while.
Also think about the flooring in the room where you will be locating your stove. The area around the stove will get a lot of traffic.
Depending on your layout, strategically placed fans or ceiling fans may help move the warm air around, but taking the time to really assess your needs and expectations now is a good idea.
I do most of my heating in an old farmhouse in a cold climate with my P61. My house is not well insulated- yet. My downstairs has wide doorways, so that helps.
My stove is placed in my dining room. It is a central area in my house, but not one we are in 24/7, so we don't mind that it is hotter in there than in the other rooms. It's nice to have a room that you can go in and get nice and toasty for a little while.
Also think about the flooring in the room where you will be locating your stove. The area around the stove will get a lot of traffic.
...and dirt. Stoves, by their very nature are DIRTY and no hearth pad will keep that contained, which is why an install near or on a carpeted floor even on a non combustible hearth pad is really a no go.
Mine is on a brick hearth pad installed over engineered hardwood flooring. Easy to clean up.
