First pellet stove in new home

[steelejones]

Hi everyone,

Im in the process of building a new home. 1000sq ft 1 story ranch mostly open concept. Im considering putting a pellet stove in the living room to heat the entire home.

The floor plan is here:

http://www.thehousedesigners.com/plan/the-chesterfield-5860/?1=0&reverse=False#top


My plan was to put electric baseboard in each of the two bedrooms as backup just in case. My real concern is if the pellet stove can project the heat to the rest of th house ok with just ceiling fans.

I see stove manufacturers say this stove an that stove can heat up to 2000sq ft etc, but im assuming those are a bit biased and would be based upon a single room.

Appreciate any thoughts you may have before I take the plunge to rid myself of #2 in this new home.

 

[jtakeman]

The sqft rating is often over rated. Look at max BTU output instead. 45 to 55K is a good ball park and should keep you comfy even if its during a cold spell. Don't go too small or you'll need back up in the cold weather.

What brands stove are you interested in?

 

[Bioburner]

Your concern of needing a bit of heat for the bedrooms is what I see as heat trying to get down the hall might be difficult. Built with modern energy conservation methods and don't scimp on insulation probably wont need much of a bump.

 

[dlehneman]

It looks like it would work fine, especially with new construction. Due to the hallway, the bedrooms will most likely be a few degrees cooler then the rest of the house, but most people prefer that anyway.

 

[steelejones]

Jtakeman - looking at a nice Harmon XXL

 

[steelejones]

Thank everyone for the encouragement and advice

 

[dlehneman]

That stove would be plenty in my opinion...I'm heating quite a bit more space with an inexpensive stove rated at a lot less btu's (31,000) and my house was built in the 60's

 

[save$]

You are in Maine, and if you are native here, (not one of those from away) you know what the winter will be like in your area. Where it is a new home, and 1000 sq ft. that should be so easy to heat. Just make sure you follow the smart home building guidelines for sealing and insulation. Whatever stove you get, try to get the one you feel comfortable with. You said you were looking at a Harman. I don't think you would regret that purchase. My raised ranch is about 2200 sq ft. I heat with the one pellets stove until it gets down to the mid teens or less, then my furnace kicks in off and on. My home was built in 1975 with 4 in. walls, thermopane window. Added additional insulation to the attic, had the house sealed when I put on new siding and another layer of insulation. We use a double entry to prevent heat loss. You can make your home so well insulated that you need some way to get fresh air in. I.E an air exchanger. I have a cousin who has a new home. He heat with a heat pump and one small stove.
Good luck, please post some pictures when you get going on your project. We enjoy seeing building projects progress.

 

[jtakeman]

That stove would be plenty in my opinion......

I agree, Should be plenty for a new tight home. And a little extra for the cold snap that sneaks up on ya. Often we see just enough stove(like save$) then the sudden cold spell settles in and the stove isn't quite big enough. Slightly more( a good buffer)offers insurance if there isn't backup heat source installed.

I imaging that the bank is going to ask for something to be the primary heating source and pellet moved to the secondary source?

 

[save$]

yes, hindsight is so 20/20, How many times have you ever said, " I wish I knew then, what I know now". A bit bigger stove is what I need. My stove works well and is paid for so it is hard for me to go and upgrade. Should mine get terminal, that is just what I plan to do. I have been looking at a Max, but that has a 4 inch exhaust, and my exhaust is 3 in. It cost me about $900 for the install on the stove I have now. Knowing what I have learned here, those guys putting the stove in then really didn't have much on the ball about what they were doing. I only hired it out so I would be able to say I had it professionally installed. I didn't want anything coming back to me saying I did it wrong.
Another option I have considered is a gas heating stove for upstairs in the living room where my wife sits. I would run on low and only when it is really cool inside. The good part about that is there are some that will run with and without electricity. If we loose power now, I just have a K-1 portable heater. We used that during the ice storm for a week. That was the only time ever we have lost power longer than one day. If I were able, I would opt for a wood stove, but I really think it would be too much for my wife to handle if I were not able to keep it going.

 

[jtakeman]

yes, hindsight is so 20/20, How many times have you ever said, " I wish I knew then, what I know now". A bit bigger stove is what I need....

I be there and actually said it twice. Once with my little quad(45K) andf then with the bigE(55K way over rated) May little quad was close only need some wood for the cpold seasn. BigE was a total mistake, Hardly matched the quads power/efficiency.

Wife and I just got tired of being cold, So in came the Omega. now no back up needed at all. Total warmth with an extra buffer is amazing. I'll also plug having heat ducted to every room. No cold spots anymore. Almost makes me want winter, But no I still like the warm season.

 

[Don2222]

I be there and actually said it twice. Once with my little quad(45K) andf then with the bigE(55K way over rated) May little quad was close only need some wood for the cpold seasn. BigE was a total mistake, Hardly matched the quads power/efficiency.

Wife and I just got tired of being cold, So in came the Omega. now no back up needed at all. Total warmth with an extra buffer is amazing. I'll also plug having heat ducted to every room. No cold spots anymore. Almost makes me want winter, But no I still like the warm season.

X2, Having the right size stove is good. This year I will be testing 2 - Harman P61a stoves in my home. 120 BTUs split between 2 stoves to distribute the heat is also a great way to go!

 

[moey]

My 2c...

Put in electric hydronic baseboard throughout the house don't bother with a oil or propane system. If you run the numbers on oil/propane vs electric in Maine you will be very surprised. With 200amp service in a 1000sq/ft house you will be fine. Put many zones in. Consider a mini-split as well you'll have A/C then as well. They are 12k-18k BTU that would be close to your heat loss I bet on a new home. Id also find a good used pellet stove or wood stove.

 

[moey]

Id also encourage you to look at a geo system for a new home it would not cost much more then a conventional system. Tied into a mortgage your looking at mere dollars per month more.

 

[daffonce]

I heat 2300 sq ft house built in 96 with my harman xxv. I am in mass so a little warmer then maine. We had a cold snap single digits to 0 for multiple days with wind. It kept the house at 65 in tbat cold. I ran boiler a bit to prevent any possiboe freeze. Think a few corner fans in the bedrooms would bump up the heat if needed. But I doubt it would be needed. My stove is on first floor and heat goes upstairs pretty easy. If you do it have an oak installed to help with efficiency.