How well does wood seem to heat your home? Looking for subjective answers.

[OHutton]

So I live in a pretty drafty 2100 sqft 1937 house with lots of windows. I've been thinking about getting an energy audit, as well as following though with the suggestions. My wife and I have saved up a good little chunk for improving the house and we'd like a good portion of that to go to making it a lot more comfortable. One day however, we would love to build a super efficient home that is basically designed around heating with a freestanding wood stove.

I have an Osburn Matrix insert which works great, but it just struggles to keep it warm anywhere other than the living room. I've done the block off plate, my wood is seasoned (10-15%), etc. I know the stove is running efficiently. It gets ripping hot, but that heat doesn't seem like to stick around. It seems like I can only really get the room up to 73 degrees or so before it tops out. I'm also going through wood rather quickly and coaling up a lot if I'm running it that hard. During the day I usually let the fire go out and the house drops to 63 degrees and the natural gas furnace takes over. It doesn't really get too cold in Chico CA either. The coldest nights go down into the high 20s. At that point, the poor stove can't really do much of anything. While we burned two cords last year, maybe my expectations are too high for that little wood use. I know a lot of you guys burn more, but you also live in places where it gets in the negatives. I don't see anything close to that.

Basically, here's the point of my post. I'm curious about your house, setup, insulation, cord use, etc and how well it responds to wood heat. I hear stories about you guys getting the room too hot, walking around in underwear, etc. I haven't been able to do any of this! Basically, with your stories, I'm trying to set up my expectations for what we can reasonably achieve once we go about tightening up the house. Extra points if you've already gone through the audit process and you can articulate the difference in subjective terms for before and after.

 

[brad wilton]

Hi o hutton,welcome i live in a 1730's stone house with french windows i also have a 1991 bungalow the woodstove in my bungalow wich is very well insulated 800sqft can be heated very well with my dovre 400 small casr iron woodstove gets up to 28c and pretty much holds the heat inside for a long time.1730 stone house had the dovre there for one winter did absolutly nothing to warm the house,you actually had to stand next to it to feel heat.whats happening is your stove is sucking all the cool air from outside into your house to help feed the fire.i had to buy a stove capable of heating 3600sqft to make it bearable .if you can hook up an outside air kit it might help keep the cooler air out

 

[Woody Stover]

That's not a huge insert but I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how well it will do once you tighten the place up. The energy audit will be a real eye-opener.

 

[jb6l6gc]

Southern ontario Canada here. Two story 2100 sq ft. 26 year old house , pretty tight but could use newer windows for sure.
Gets pretty damn cold and snowy here. Last year was a good baseline for me as Ive only been in the house 3 yrs this year and it was a brutal never ending winter. To heat 100% with wood using a non epa furnace and non epa zero clearance fireplace (which is mostly for ambiance but does pump good heat) I burn about 6 cords. If you tightened the place up and burned your two cords it would be a heck of a llot warmer for you. PFFT two cords I friggen wish even after I replace furnace next year I only expect to use about 25% less

 

[Charles1981]

If your house is drafty... That is where you need to start. We heat 2100sq ft from the basement. Always around 70 in the house upstairs (80 in basement) untill temps outside start to go below zero.

 

[Squisher]

We heat fairly easily about 2200sqft rancher from the basement. Well into freezing temps I can maintain 70-75 throughout the upstairs living area. Well placed stove and interior masonry chimney(lined). My house is circa 1961 and I would say it's quite drafty.

 

[Chimney Smoke]

I have a 1600 square foot cape built in 2004 in southern Maine. My stove is relatively small (2.2 cf) and it is located in a corner on one end of the house. Without even trying, the stove keeps the downstairs at 70-72 degrees and the upstairs around 68. I actually close my bedroom door 3/4 so it doesn't get too hot in there. This is with just burning miscellaneous hardwood chunks and some white pine. If I do full loads, it's too hot for me - pushing 78-80 degrees on the first floor.

 

[Fastdonzi]

I Heat an "A" Frame house made in the 60's 100% with wood for 15 yrs, 12' ceiling in the Living room, Heated area about 2000sf. with the old Buck 27000 it took about 6 cords, I'm hoping the Buck 91 will cut that down. If nothing else I wont have to get up in the middle of the night to add wood...

 

[edyit]

I live in a 1968 "Sears" house in the adirondacks of north eastern NY. I can tell you 1st hand that insulation and sealing up drafts as best as you can is going to make a tremendous difference on heating. We primarily heat with wood, but have a oil boiler for back up heat. Its nice to be able to go away for a day or 2 and know nothing is going to freeze.

 

[Huntindog1]

Your issue is that you have a drafty old house. The heat is going out faster than you can replace it. Especially at the far ends of the house. Everyone has issues getting the heat dispersed thru their house but having a drafty poorly insulated house really makes the issue worse. Make sure your burning 24/7 as those times you let the house cool down will be really hard to get the house at the outer ends to heat back up. An insert with a blower really heats up the room the stove is in unless that room is really large. I like the use of a radiant stove no blower. But inserts dont have that option. You can get those plastic shrink wrap things to put on windows to tighten them up for the winter.

Burning you stove at high settings will flush alot of heat up the flue. Keeping the stove going 24/7 with no down times is key as the low slow burns keeps heat pumping in granted you have the coal stage of fires. Too add to coal stage of the burn cycle when you have a drafty house the coal stage is less effective as heats is going out so fast.

 

[NYSB]

We have a 2.5cf hybrid catalytic flush-mounted insert. Our house is a 2000sf ranch-style with the fireplace at one end of the house and the bedrooms at the other. Exterior masonry chimney, stainless steel liner without insulation. No real block-off plate - just some roxul insulation stuffed up into the old fireplace damper at the base of the liner. Yes, yes...will get around to fixing all that... But for now it heats our house very well. Down into the teens and 20's we can keep it 70-73 way back in the bedroom areas and 76-80 in the room with the stove. Unless it's in the single digits, I never really run the stove with the primary air open more than 50%. I do liberally use the blower fan in the unit, which helps a lot. We have 14-16 inches of blown cellulose in the attic (about an R 45 or so), double-pane windows throughout, and when we installed new siding we added 1" solid foam insulation on all the outside walls. House was built in the 50's and still has some drafty areas - but we certainly don't notice them when the stove is running!

A typical winter weekend day in January it might by 17 at 6AM with a high of 31. I will have run the stove all night with minimally open primary air and when I wake up there will be plenty of hot coals to get another fire going in <10min. I'll run it 30%-40% open for the first load, then maybe 20% open for the second load. Usually I will coast on the second load until after dinner time, when I might either do one more small load before the overnight burn, or go right into packing the stove for overnight. When I prep for overnight I pack the wood as tightly as possible and as much as will fit and still be able to close the glass. I damper it down as soon as cat gets into active zone, and just leave it on a minimum settting.

 

[Simonkenton]

I have a 20 year old log cabin that I built, is very snug and warm and well insulated. I have little Waterford stove and it does a great job of heating the house. On a 20 degree day I get 67 degrees in the living room and 65 degrees in the bedroom upstairs.

 

[firefighterjake]

1800 square foot home built in the mid-1970s, 2-story Cape with mostly 2 x 4 walls and typical fiberglass insulation. Semi-closed design (or semi-open if your prefer -- kitchen and dining room are open, living room has two doorways).

I never really bother to figure out the amount of cords burned from year to year, but I would guess 4-5 cords of wood in a typical year.

Due to the layout of the home and placement of the stove the living room is typically in the mid to high 70s, adjoining rooms and upstairs are low 70s when the stove is running full steam . . . only rooms which are notably cooler with temps in the low 60s to mid 60s are the master bedroom (on first floor) and (ironically) the Boiler Room/MudRoom.

Before I bought my woodstove I took to heart some of the best advice I received here . . . spend the money to tighten up the home by sealing off drafts and insulating when possible. I put extra insulation in the attic, sealed up drafts, added more insulation in the knee walls and sealed up things better . . . although it is always a project undone as I find new areas to seal up and insulate almost every year. It all adds up though . . . as folks said then, and say now . . . keep the heat you make through insulation and sealing up the home!

 

[peakbagger]

Most superefficient homes have too low of a heating load for a wood stove. Most Passivhaus folks skip the woodstoves as it introduces way to much potential uncontrolled air

 

[sean b]

Our house is a 25-year-old 1500-1600 sq ft two story. It was built with contractor grade materials (we didn't have it built; we bought it in 2005) so.... 2x4 studded walls with fiberglass insulation, average windows, no vapor barrier and cheap vinyl siding. So it's somewhat drafty but with that said, our VC wood stove has the first floor at 80 to 90 F burning at medium when it's single digits outside. We sleep with the bedroom windows cracked in January and go through 3.5-4 cords per winter. (Currently dealing with some design issues with the stove that are being resolved but that's a separate issue.)

About your house.... what type of construction is it? An audit will go a long way toward identifying your heat loss issues (include a thermal scan if you can swing it) but I'd be interested in the general details. Usually you're looking at better windows and doors, upping the R value in the attic (if applicable) and a vapor barrier (house wrap...like 'Tyvek' or something similar) if you plan on going as far as removing siding. If I had the time and money, I'd strip the siding off my house, upgrade the windows and doors, make sure the insulation was adequate between the studs and then wrap it with a vapor barrier before re-siding. But you have to be careful you don't go too far. I've seen some builders cause a new set of problems by not allowing a house to properly breath.

 

[OHutton]

Wow! Thanks for all the feedback! I posted around midnight last night and there are already 15 replies at 8am! You guys are awesome.

What I'm reading is encouraging. Our siding is original and starting to deteriorate/shed paint to the point where we pretty much have to spend a fortune on stripping the entire thing down to bare wood and re-paint. I got a quote for $8k-10k from a well reputed painter including materials and doing our windows. We bought the house off market on a flip and the paint job was done so quickly. It was a shame. In the first winter it was already peeling.

Then we had the idea of just biting the bullet and re-siding the house with that concrete board which is more weather resistant than the wood. The eves on our house are basically non existant and take a beating during the winters—another reason the finish on the board would be a plus. The benefit I see in that is while it's probably more expensive (I still need a quote) it will give us the opportunity to upgrade insulation (if there is any) as well as add Tyvek to tighten up the envelope as well. We can also address any issues like rot, electrical, etc.

Obviously, we'll get the audit first and then see about doing the upgrades. I'm just collecting info right now. I'll call our energy company and see if they have any services. I was reading about people getting audits for around $100 on this site. I hope we have a similar program.

My expectations aren't that I can heat 100% with 2 cords of wood, but it would be nice to get the house a little warmer at least.

 

[BigFir]

Windows! I did mine 4 years ago and I now heat 3000sq/ft entirely with wood(except for the baby's room at the far end of the house I turn on the electric for brief periods). Before the new windows it was impossible to maintain the heat.

It Warmed up to -2c last night and I was not expecting it......... 26.1c upstairs this morning, I have no idea what it was in the basement near the stove!

 

[iamlucky13]

I'm only a part time burner, so my annual wood use is not relevant, but...

1800 sq. ft, two story home built in 1983. Insulation is R11 in the walls, R30+ in the ceiling, and R21 over the crawlspace. Recently replaced the original windows with some moderately efficient vinyl framed windows. We did this when we bought the place, at the same time we had the siding replaced, so I have no before experience, but in houses with older windows, I can feel a slight draft near the windows caused by interior air cooling next to the window and sinking. We don't experience this in our house.

House is decently well sealed, but I know of a couple specific leaks to take care of. Overall, the insulation is acceptable, but not ideal for our region. I keep doors to our two currently unoccupied bedrooms closed, so the effective heated area is slightly smaller.

2.2 cubic foot flush insert, with interior masonry chimney. Double-walled stainless liner. No block off plate, yet.

The house is slow to warm up when I start the fire, but once I get it warm, it's easy to keep warm. Last week we were in the upper 20's to low 30's, and the house stayed at about 72 without really trying.

FYI, you might be able to tell if your walls are insulated by removing the faceplates from a couple electrical outlets and trying to look through the small gap that usually exists between the box and the drywall.

I'd probably replace the siding if you can afford it. A lot of your painting cost is no doubt the extensive prep that will be needed due to the wear and peeling you describe, and a bit the extra care needed in painting (backrolling, etc). When we did ours, we found numerous recommendations that with new, pre-primed cement board, we could spray on a single, thick coat, and skip backrolling. 4 years later, those recommendations still appear to have been valid. I expect you would get a reduced painting quote that partially offsets the cost of the siding, and the new siding should last longer before its next painting than the old siding.

If you have either single pane or aluminum framed windows, I'd also seriously consider replacing those with mid-grade vinyl (or fiberglass or wood if you want to be fancy) framed windows at the same time as the siding, even if you have to wait another 1-2 years to save up for it. Longer than that, and I'd probably go ahead and approach the improvements piecemeal.

 

[sean b]

OHutton, If it were me, I'd be hard pressed to put money into a paint job that will need done again at some point. I'd want to go as maintenance-free as possible. (If I were still a young man and had the money, I'd build a house out of stone from the mountain next to us..... for looks as much as durability.)

One more thing to consider: if you spend money on ANYTHING to increase energy efficiency, look into any rebate money that may be available from your governing bodies, utility providers, etc. And make sure you apply for the rebates before you change existing conditions.

 

[Mr4btTahoe]

I'll say this...

My first house was build in 1896... 1ksq ft. The house was laid out piss poor for wood stove heating and my little squire stove did ok but was supplemental at best.

Our new place is 2k sq. ft... 6" walls... plenty of insulation. I'm using an old Long MFG. stove modified with secondary air. I can easily get the house over 80. The rooms farthest from the stove room will run mid 70s.

The biggest improvement in energy that we saw with our first house was windows... then we blew in 18" of cellulose in the attic... then I insulated the crawlspace walls with 12" fiberglass.and laid 6 mil plastic on the ground. GREATLY reduced our heating costs.

 

[georgepds]

I have a 2 story 1500 ft^2 house. I heat mainly with wood (Progress Hybrid) , with a mini-split (Fujits RLS2) as backup. There's lots of windows and leaks. There's 6" of insulation on 3 sides, and 4" on one.The house is warm and toasty all winter.

In my case I have double doors sealing the ground floor from the entry/stairs to the second story. While the stove is heating up, those doors are closed. Once the stove reaches temperature, I open the doors to cool of the downstairs

 

[Ashful]

On cord usage, we can calculate with some limited accuracy what you would need to heat your joint, based on your natural gas usage. Wood usage is usually higher in terms of BTU per degree day, because most wood stovers keep their place heated 24 hours with wood, and most conventional heaters turn down the heat during sleeping or hours away from home.

Going back to your OP, I'm in a similar situation in that I will never be able to heat my place 100% with wood, but I do realize that every BTU I put into the house with wood is one less I must extract from my oil-fired boiler. So, I leave the thermostats on a schedule that will keep the family comfy and happy, and just keep those stoves cruising whenever outside temps are below 55F.

The main part of my house dates to the 1770's (one part may be older), and has all of the original 1770's windows and doors. This does not scream of high efficiency, but stone houses are naturally pretty tight (they radiate like hell, tho), and I've been rebuilding / repairing all of the windows and doors to be as tight as possible.

 

[firefighterjake]

If you are thinking of putting new siding on the house I would most definitely pony up the extra money to wrap the house with additional insulation . . . I did just that two years ago . . . stripped off the cedar shakes and had the guy installing the vinyl siding put on a taped layer of foam insulation.

 

[RFarm]

I heat a 2100 sqft strawbale Cape Cod exclusively with wood. We might burn 1 cord a year. R-65 walls and R-65 ceiling insulated with 18" blown in cellulose. The home is also stand alone solar, so it is positioned in a SW facing position to maximize solar exposure. I am at 1500 ft in the foothills of the N. GA mountains, We get a few cold snaps where temps go single digits at night, but we are mostly 30's at night and 50's during the day through much of the winter. We are comfortably in the mid 70's inside when the stove is on. We shoulder burn most of the winter with the occasional 24/7 session when temps go singular. Insulation and thermal mass are a wood burners best friend!

 

[Smoked]

I am heating over 2,000 sq ft and it is not very will insulated and not easy to fix. Also very exposed to wind. I added a second stove in my basement this year to see if that would help in the colder weather. So far it has been a warm fall. I have only run the 2 stoves 2 or 3 times at the same time but I have not had to use any other form of heat yet this year. We'll see how long that lasts and also see how trying to keep up with 2 stoves going 24x7 actually works once we get some colder weather.

Right now I have the heat set at 63 just in case. If it gets colder and I can't keep up, I will likely bump it up to 66. I think if if you let it fall that far, you have to work awfully heard just to get the mass warmed back up. The good thing is with gas fired hot water, the wood and boiler work very well together. My first house with a stove was a heat pump with a return in the ceiling and duct work in the attic. They did not play nice together