We would like to install a freestanding gas stove in a sunroom for supplemental heat in the winter. The room itself is 12x13 and it is open to the rest of the house. The primary heat source is a gas furnace. We don't want to overwhelm the space with too much heat but that room is cooler in the winter than the rest of the house due to the windows. since it is open to the rest of the house it would like it to help keep the furnace from running as much. What size BTU stove would you recommend?
Correct size gas freestanding stove
- Thread starter Pow
- 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. -
Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
wooduser
Minister of Fire
<< and expected and to meet the EPA guidelines for clean burn.
Is this room an addition?
It sounds as though the central heating system is not adding sufficient warm air to this space in the proper places, usually under the windows. This kind of thing is common when an addition is added or a new area is enclosed within the envelope of the house.
If your main interest is having a comfortable space, extending the duct system to heat the room properly will probably do a better job and probably at less cost than adding a gas heater.
If you are interested in the cheerful affect of having the stove as your primary concern, then the stove sounds like a good idea.
<< and expected and to meet the EPA guidelines for clean burn.
Is this room an addition?
It sounds as though the central heating system is not adding sufficient warm air to this space in the proper places, usually under the windows. This kind of thing is common when an addition is added or a new area is enclosed within the envelope of the house.
If your main interest is having a comfortable space, extending the duct system to heat the room properly will probably do a better job and probably at less cost than adding a gas heater.
If you are interested in the cheerful affect of having the stove as your primary concern, then the stove sounds like a good idea.
A sunroom us usualy hard to heat due to the window issue. 12/13 isnt very big so a small gas stove would no doubt solve your issue i have the same problem but our room is 26x24 with glass. You need some additional heat I dont know how your a/c works either? Start to do a little shopping at stove shops they can advise you. You are going to have to either have a roof top direct vent pipe up through your roof or vent out the back somewhere that brings up new problems. I am thinking maybe going electric baseboard heaters would be your best bet for this small room!
So, the sunroom is actually ducted to the central gas furnace. It is more of an ambiance thing for the gas stove and to provide some extra heat for both that room which is colder as well as some extra heat for that entire floor. So I don't want to get a stove that doesn't have enough turn down but at the same time not enough max BTU to make a significant difference. What is the max BTU you would put there and just as important what would be the optimum lower range of BTU so we don't heat ourselves out of the space.
wooduser
Minister of Fire
Windows, of course, are usually big heat losers. But a properly designed central heating system will dump enough heat under the windows to keep any sunroom warm, I suggest!
Of course, having a well designed central heating system doesn't necessarily happen every day.
And often sunrooms are spaces added on after the central heating system was designed, and therefore you can't blame the HVAC guy for a cold room.
But POW sounds like the ideal candidate for adding a gas stove --- he wants some supplemental heat + the ambiance and ease of use of a gas stove.
wooduser
Minister of Fire
Pow,
Since you want the stove for some supplemental heat, you may want to control it with a thermostat, which can be installed with the stove ----on a wall if desired.
A timer that control the stove might actually be better for your plans. You could switch on the fireplace for a desired number of hours, and have it shut off at the end of that time.
Since you want the stove for some supplemental heat, you may want to control it with a thermostat, which can be installed with the stove ----on a wall if desired.
A timer that control the stove might actually be better for your plans. You could switch on the fireplace for a desired number of hours, and have it shut off at the end of that time.
His sunroom isnt very big to go through all the work and expense with a gas stove will be hard to recoup he will need a gas stove, I am betting there is no room for a dv out the back thus he will have to vent up through his attic not cheap, pipe gas to his stove not cheap, . If our room wasnt so large 24x26 I would have gone with el. baseboard heat and been done with it.
I did a new bathroom addition I put all tile in the bathroom its at the end of the house. It gets so cold in there with all that tile i have to run a el. heater in addition to furnace heat I just cant get enough heat piped in. The bathroom is 8x10 not much smaller than his sunroom. I know his pain!! All that glass is a killer in the winter time I know about that too!
I did a new bathroom addition I put all tile in the bathroom its at the end of the house. It gets so cold in there with all that tile i have to run a el. heater in addition to furnace heat I just cant get enough heat piped in. The bathroom is 8x10 not much smaller than his sunroom. I know his pain!! All that glass is a killer in the winter time I know about that too!
wooduser
Minister of Fire
<< It gets so cold in there with all that tile i have to run a el. heater in addition to furnace heat I just cant get enough heat piped in.
It's quite common for forced air furnaces to do a poor job of heating rooms remote from the furnace. The common reason for this is that the warm air vents near the furnace get opened wide, leaving little air or air pressure to allow warm air to be forced to the remote parts of the house.
In addition, since the living room often gets heated the best, and that's where the thermostat is often located, the furnace shuts off too early to heat remote parts of the house.
This can often be greatly improved by ":balancing" the heating system. Start by reducing the air flow to the warm air vents putting out the greatest amount of warm air ---- see how that affects heating those remote parts of the house. You should see the air flow pick up. It required some judgement to balance a heating system effectively.
You can go too far that way too. . Another common problem is a house with too many warm air vents closed down, which doesn't allow the furnace to get rid of the heat produced by the burners. That causes the furnace burners to shut off on the high temperature limit switch, and can result in a distinctly cold house, especially during very cold weather when the burners need to operate most of the time to keep the house warm.
It's quite common for forced air furnaces to do a poor job of heating rooms remote from the furnace. The common reason for this is that the warm air vents near the furnace get opened wide, leaving little air or air pressure to allow warm air to be forced to the remote parts of the house.
In addition, since the living room often gets heated the best, and that's where the thermostat is often located, the furnace shuts off too early to heat remote parts of the house.
This can often be greatly improved by ":balancing" the heating system. Start by reducing the air flow to the warm air vents putting out the greatest amount of warm air ---- see how that affects heating those remote parts of the house. You should see the air flow pick up. It required some judgement to balance a heating system effectively.
You can go too far that way too. . Another common problem is a house with too many warm air vents closed down, which doesn't allow the furnace to get rid of the heat produced by the burners. That causes the furnace burners to shut off on the high temperature limit switch, and can result in a distinctly cold house, especially during very cold weather when the burners need to operate most of the time to keep the house warm.
Similar threads
