Insert or free standing for particular floor plan?

[calmodulin]

Hi guys, we are starting to look into adding a pellet stove to complement our existing oil furnace (being from California, Connecticut winter is COLD!!). We'd like to use the stove to heat up the family room and kitchen area, where the entire family spend most of the time. Ideally, we'd like to have some spilled over heat to go to bedrooms upstairs. We have a masonry fireplace in the family room that can house a pellet insert (see attached 1st floor plan).

My questions:
1) Can the fireplace insert, given that it is facing away from the kitchen area, efficiently heat up the family room and transfer heat to the kitchen area, or a free standing stove in the blue box position a better option?
2) The entire first floor is about 2400 sqft, and the stairways are rather far from the family room. Is it still possible to move some of the heat upstairs? If so, what is the range of BTUs we might need?

Thanks!

 

[rich2500]

I think you would be better with the freestanding at the blue box blowing the heat towards the other rooms.