Help Moving Heat Across Foyer

[chazcarr]

I finally have my stove installed in my new house and am getting the hang of dialing it in. Now there is one more challenge left. My house has a large, vaulted foyer that is right outside the stove room. All the heat leaves the stove room and travels up to the bedrooms. The bedrooms stay nice and warm. Problem is that the rest of the 1st floor stays cold, and in fact the heat kicks on a lot because no stove heat reaches the room with the thermostat.

Here is a floor layout of a similar home, RED is the stove, GREEN is the thermostat.

Is there anything I can do?

Thanks

 

[DAKSY]

No ceiling fans in any of those rooms? Sometimes, having the one in the stove room on DOWN draft
& having the one in the thermostat room on UP draft, you will get the movement you want...
Then again, you may have to change the directions on one or both, in order the get it right.
All houses are different...

 

[weatherguy]

If you dont have ceiling fans you'll have to experiment with box fans on the floor.

 

[prezes13]

I have a ceiling fan in my living room in an updraft mode an it works great for me. I would try a small fan on the floor righ under the thermostat pushing cold air towards the stove.

 

[Pertzbro]

You're going to have a very hard time heating the first floor with that lofted entry way. Wood stove might have worked better over in the family room where the floor plan shows a fireplace. Your first floor will be even colder if you move the thermostat. Basically all your wood heat is going to the second floor and the furnace is keep the first floor up to temp.

 

[chazcarr]

No ceiling fans in any of those rooms? Sometimes, having the one in the stove room on DOWN draft
& having the one in the thermostat room on UP draft, you will get the movement you want...
Then again, you may have to change the directions on one or both, in order the get it right.
All houses are different...

no fans, but the entry has a large ugly light I am considering replacing with a fan light

 

[begreen]

I agree with Pertzbro, this is going to be a challenge. The foyer is acting as a natural chimney that warm air rises in. A ceiling fan may help a bit, but it will be fighting the natural tendency of warm air. If there is a basement you might be able to pull air from the dining area through and insulated duct that has an inline fan and blow it into the stove room. In theory this will pull air into the dining room, but the nature of warm air is going to be fighting this.

 

[Sawset]

I have a layout that could be considered roughly similar. Newer (10yrs), so probably insulated similar. The outer rooms are always about 10deg cooler than the stove room. Tried all of the suggestions, ceiling fan, box fan, ducting, running the hvac to circulate, all to no avail. Try closing the upper bedroom doors to lessen the heat draw to those areas. Turn the stat down and up the stove output. The stove looks to be on an outer wall - is it an insert? - maybe a fan on stove unit to get heat out of the fireplace? Just suggestions. In the end I've left it all alone except to up the output of the stove and close the upstairs bedrooms if I really want the place warmer.

 

[chazcarr]

I've been having some success this weekend by opening all the doors upstairs and using a box fan from the dining room across the foyer.
the upstairs bedroom has a door over the breakfast area that has a little loft.

This seems to be creating a slight whole house cycle with the stove room.

Stove room at 74, bedrooms at 72, dining room at 66. Not bad.

 

[jetsam]

Adding a large doorway or archway between the living room and family room would be good. I'd take out as much of that wall as possible.

After that a counterclockwise fan loop should move cold air along the floor fairly well.

If all the heat still ends up upstairs, you could reduce the size of the other doorway (easy to test, just block part of the old one with a piece of rigid insulation temporarily).

 

[Woody Stover]

Is your stair configuration the same as in the diagram you posted? If so, maybe put a curtain across the "up" stair opening? Heat is still going to pool in the vaulted foyer ceiling, but maybe it will keep some from going upstairs?

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Im in the boat with some of the orhers. Your going to have a tough time keeping the heat low enough to heat the first floor. Heat wants to rise, clod air wants to settle down. All your heat is going out the door of the room and straight up to the 2nd floor. The only way I can see is to pull the heat down from the 2nd floor, or pull the warm air out of the stove room and move it to a different room on the first floor with duct work and inline fan..

 

[jetsam]

Same thing I said earlier but with doodles. Blue arrows are floor fans for cold air, if you still even need them.

 

[chazcarr]

OK, going with Jetsam idea here, I am going to put this fan through the wall of living room to family room to help make a loop.
I cannot remove the wall as he mentioned since the living room is a library with built in bookshelves.

But there is a 18 inch gap between the top of the bookshelves and the ceiling where this fan can fit nicely.

it is 100CFM fan, think that will make a differnece?

 

[jetsam]

Better than nothing. Removing that wall was my idea, but not everyone is up for that kind of thing. A tall wide open doorway or archway would be good too.

 

[chemie]

OK, going with Jetsam idea here, I am going to put this fan through the wall of living room to family room to help make a loop.
I cannot remove the wall as he mentioned since the living room is a library with built in bookshelves.

But there is a 18 inch gap between the top of the bookshelves and the ceiling where this fan can fit nicely.

it is 100CFM fan, think that will make a differnece?

Were you able to move the hot air to your dining room?
I’m kinda in the situation and debating if I should use a ground box fan.

 

[chazcarr]

Were you able to move the hot air to your dining room?
I’m kinda in the situation and debating if I should use a ground box fan.

Did it in my old house and it worked like a charm. I just used an IR thermometer and walked around the house to see where all the heat was, then placed the fan at the hottest spot blowing towards the coldest. Had an electrician hardwire it. made about a 8 degree difference

 

[chemie]

Did it in my old house and it worked like a charm. I just used an IR thermometer and walked around the house to see where all the heat was, then placed the fan at the hottest spot blowing towards the coldest. Had an electrician hardwire it. made about a 8 degree difference

You mean 8 degrees increase in the dining room with the installation of wall fan?

 

[chazcarr]

You mean 8 degrees increase in the dining room with the installation of wall fan?

No, it made Family room 8 degrees higher. Dining room also got warmer and you could see a real obvious airflow pattern.