Heating 2000 sq/f split-level

[4dimad]

Hi, I am new to the “alternative heat”, so pardon my ignorance. I have a split-level house (aprox. 2000 sq feet). My living room and 3 bedrooms are upstairs. I also have a family room with fireplace, office and my wife’s day care (formerly 2 cars garage) downstairs in a walkout basement. So I would need to heat the upstairs level mostly at night and downstairs during the day. Kids are not going to have direct access to the fireplace, so I thought I should buy a fireplace insert to heat a lower level during the day (I really want to be able to keep the fireplace for the wood) and smaller pellets stove for the upstairs. I am okay with maintenance and feeding of the stoves. The house is currently heated by the oil and the room with furnace backs up to the fireplace. I have 2 zones downstairs and worst case scenario, when I am unable to load the stove, my wife can use the existing system. Would the stove heat the lower level since the fireplace is in a separate room? What can you recommend? I attached a picture of the basement (sorry, it’s not pretty). Thank you!

 

[cocey2002]

I'll try to answer since no one else has taken a shot. At my old house we had two large rooms in the basement with a wood stove. The room with the stove would get very hot but the other room would stay around 70degrees. The more open floorplan you have the better the heat with spreadout. Your downstairs looks pretty seperated and while it will heat everything I think the day care would be and issue. You would probably get more heat going up the stairs than traveling to the day care room. Just my opinion. Best of luck.

 

[Jags]

For the basement part of the question, you are going to have an uphill battle trying to move heat from the fireplace to the daycare area. You can consider most wood fired appliances as "space" heaters. Some people are lucky with an open floor plan, but when it is broken up (like yours) it can be the most difficult part to overcome. Throwing a pile of kids into the mix where things like fans and closed doors must be considered, and it makes your job that much more difficult.

 

[savageactor7]

I'm stumped on this one.

Split levels are tough...if you know any wood burning friends ask them to come over and solicit their recommendations. They may ask you some lifestyle questions ...like what room does the family hang out it the most etc. Don't be surprised if a wood burner friend advised you to get pellet stove. Good luck with your search.

 

[begreen]

I would recommend opening up the basement if you want to heat it with an area heater like an insert. You'll need to be mindful of load bearing walls, but even converting the family and daycare rooms entry doors to a pair of 3' french doors would make a large difference.