Have had the following posted in the "Boiler Room" with no response yet so will try it here in the "Hearth Room"
Hello - just finished having a subcontractor install my brand new heating system. The home is self-built new construction two story of about 2080 sq.ft. The heating system consists of a natural gas forced air system with an RSF Opel 3 tied into the forced air ductwork with the optional central heating kit consisting of a blower blowing heat from the fireplace into the ductwork for distribution. The fireplace central heating kit “dumps” heat into the 1st zone only since that is all you can do according to the manual. I had two thermostatically constrolled zones installed… Zone #1 for the basement and 1st floor, plus zone #2 for the 2nd floor. The fireplace central heat kit ties into zone #1 only. The thought was that heat rises and so will rise to the 2nd floor slowly and naturally from the basement and first floor. I didn’t want to blow extra heat from the fireplace directly upstairs through ductwork anyhow thinking that this would be too much heat being directly distributed to the second floor when it will slowly and naturally rise there on its own. I thought it would be better to let the heat rise from zone #1 (basement & first floor) since I have a large switchback staircase in the middle of the house with a large ceiling fan that can help pull heat up if needed.
I am looking at living in the home for 15-20 years max. I also designed the house with all necessities on the first floor so that if I decide to stay beyond 15 years, I could close off the second floor by installing an inulated door at the bottom of the staircase. I would then only heat the first floor, thus another reason for the two zone system. In the meantime, I hope to heat my new home primarily with the wood fireplace, having the natural gas furnace kick on only to support the fireplace when needed… such as on very, very cold nights or in the early fall or late spring when the fireplace heat may be a bit much. Some are telling me I wasted my money having two thermostatically controlled zones installed and should have simply went with 1 zone for the entire house… effectively having the central heating kit of the fireplace “dump” heat into the ductwork for the entire house. Others are telling me I wasted money on the Opel3 saying I could have bought a whole lot of natural gas with the thousands of dollars spent on the fireplace.
I’ve always tried to look at 2 scenarios in designing the heating system for my new home - my hopes of heating primarily with wood as-well-as the resale potential of this house so was doing what I thought was best to accomodate both. I don’t think I went wrong whatsoever with installing the RSF Opel 3 as it is both a beautiful and functional fireplace… should be excellent for both my heating needs as well as resale appeal/value. But, after paying a few hundred dollars extra to go with a high efficiency furnace upgrade with variable speed blower (that hopefully shouldn’t come on too much with the fireplace burning) and close to a couple thousand extra for the two separate theromstatically controlled zones vs. one whole-house zone, I am having some people tell me I wasted my money. It could be that they don’t see the grand scheme of things with what I am trying to accomplish. Or, that they are correct.
In closing, did I go wrong with having two zones installed since I plan to use the fireplace to primarily heat the house? Was my thought of dumping heat from the fireplace into the basement and first floor through the zone #1 ductwork and then allowing it to rise to the second floor naturally and slowly a more correct thought or incorrect thought? Simply looking for peace of mind one way or the other. If I did good with my system design then great. If I wasted my money then I guess I’ll do a few side jobs and try to recover my money for peace of mind.
Hello - just finished having a subcontractor install my brand new heating system. The home is self-built new construction two story of about 2080 sq.ft. The heating system consists of a natural gas forced air system with an RSF Opel 3 tied into the forced air ductwork with the optional central heating kit consisting of a blower blowing heat from the fireplace into the ductwork for distribution. The fireplace central heating kit “dumps” heat into the 1st zone only since that is all you can do according to the manual. I had two thermostatically constrolled zones installed… Zone #1 for the basement and 1st floor, plus zone #2 for the 2nd floor. The fireplace central heat kit ties into zone #1 only. The thought was that heat rises and so will rise to the 2nd floor slowly and naturally from the basement and first floor. I didn’t want to blow extra heat from the fireplace directly upstairs through ductwork anyhow thinking that this would be too much heat being directly distributed to the second floor when it will slowly and naturally rise there on its own. I thought it would be better to let the heat rise from zone #1 (basement & first floor) since I have a large switchback staircase in the middle of the house with a large ceiling fan that can help pull heat up if needed.
I am looking at living in the home for 15-20 years max. I also designed the house with all necessities on the first floor so that if I decide to stay beyond 15 years, I could close off the second floor by installing an inulated door at the bottom of the staircase. I would then only heat the first floor, thus another reason for the two zone system. In the meantime, I hope to heat my new home primarily with the wood fireplace, having the natural gas furnace kick on only to support the fireplace when needed… such as on very, very cold nights or in the early fall or late spring when the fireplace heat may be a bit much. Some are telling me I wasted my money having two thermostatically controlled zones installed and should have simply went with 1 zone for the entire house… effectively having the central heating kit of the fireplace “dump” heat into the ductwork for the entire house. Others are telling me I wasted money on the Opel3 saying I could have bought a whole lot of natural gas with the thousands of dollars spent on the fireplace.
I’ve always tried to look at 2 scenarios in designing the heating system for my new home - my hopes of heating primarily with wood as-well-as the resale potential of this house so was doing what I thought was best to accomodate both. I don’t think I went wrong whatsoever with installing the RSF Opel 3 as it is both a beautiful and functional fireplace… should be excellent for both my heating needs as well as resale appeal/value. But, after paying a few hundred dollars extra to go with a high efficiency furnace upgrade with variable speed blower (that hopefully shouldn’t come on too much with the fireplace burning) and close to a couple thousand extra for the two separate theromstatically controlled zones vs. one whole-house zone, I am having some people tell me I wasted my money. It could be that they don’t see the grand scheme of things with what I am trying to accomplish. Or, that they are correct.
In closing, did I go wrong with having two zones installed since I plan to use the fireplace to primarily heat the house? Was my thought of dumping heat from the fireplace into the basement and first floor through the zone #1 ductwork and then allowing it to rise to the second floor naturally and slowly a more correct thought or incorrect thought? Simply looking for peace of mind one way or the other. If I did good with my system design then great. If I wasted my money then I guess I’ll do a few side jobs and try to recover my money for peace of mind.
