Newbie help!

[acritzer]

Hello everyone. Looking for some guidance as I investigate the world of inserts!
We just purchased a home that is all electric and I'm nervous about the future heating costs. I'm attacking from all angles and although solar sounded interesting at first I'm now leaning towards a wood burning insert to augment the heating.
I'll try and bullet point necessary info.
-It's a 3,300 square feet home with an open floor plan. The stairs to the basement have no walls or door. Likewise going up to the second floor (2 bedrooms and 1 bath), it completely open.
-70's design. large entry way with vaulted ceiling, center of house. the left side of the house is first floor only (master bed and living room). the right side has family room, and breakfast area...above this is the second floor.
-basement is finished.
-2 fireplaces. One in the basement...kind of tucked in the back. Second one in the family room.
-we have access to woods directly behind us.

I wish I could post a diagram of some sort to help understand the layout. My thinking is an insert in the family room. It's more centrally located than the basement one, and is almost directly under the second floor living area. Plus, it will also be where we spend a majority of our time.

I've done some searching and reading. Based on early results I think I'm leaning towards the Pacific Energy Summit? Seems like it will be large enough to really help?

My questions-
-Is the summit a good model?
-how well do the insert fans distribute heat? I can't imagine it would help on the far side of the house (which is where the master bed is).
-can the furnace fan be used to move the heat throughout?
-other things to consider at this stage?

 

[begreen]

Good thinking on putting the heat where you spend the most time. The Summit is an excellent heater. Any stove is primarily an area heater. Cathedral ceilings, floor layout, insulation, glass area all will affect how well the heat reaches the rest of the house. A ceiling fan or two in the cathedral ceiling can help with heat distribution. Often using the furnace fan doesn't work out too well due to heat losses in the ductwork runs and high power requirement, but if the duct system is entirely insulated (supply and return) then it might help.

You can post pictures. Here is a guide: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/putting-images-into-your-forums-posts.87212/

 

[acritzer]

So, understanding that it would primarily be an area heater...when they quote "up to 3100 square feet" and other figures like this, how do they assume that the heat gets distributed? I can't think of any larger homes like this that are without hallways, stairs, etc.

Would the family room end up being insanely hot and the other areas of the house just "cold"?

 

[begreen]

Is the 3100 sq ftg with or without the basement area included?
You have to take the sq ftg heated numbers with a large grain of salt. There are so many variables. The sq ftg heated is more of a marketing thing. Heating a house in Portland, OR is very different than heating a house in Cleveland. House insulation, constructions etc. vary wildly too.

Post a sketch of the floorplan so we can better see what your layout is like.

 

[acritzer]

Is the 3100 sq ftg with or without the basement area included?
You have to take the sq ftg heated numbers with a large grain of salt. There are so many variables. The sq ftg heated is more of a marketing thing. Heating a house in Portland, OR is very different than heating a house in Cleveland. House insulation, constructions etc. vary wildly too.

Post a sketch of the floorplan so we can better see what your layout is like.

The house is 3,300 without the basement. I was using the 3100 as something I've seen for the Summit. I'll try and figure out a way to post a sketch to help.

 

[blades]

Moving cold air to the stove room is key, ceiling fans yes yes & yes to either push down or pull up ( they help even out the ac also) heat naturally rising, cold falling so open stairs are always a source of a cold air draft ( back in the day those stairs all had doors , minimum at bottom some both top and bottom.) maybe 2 stoves- a free standing one on the opposite side of the house might be something to consider also depending on lay out. Another thing that comes up is the location of the thermostat in relation to the stove room.

 

[acritzer]

We are putting in ceiling fans in the upstairs bedrooms...mainly for comfort in the summer. I'm not sure where else might be most beneficial. Possibly in the lofted celling area, which is in the center of the house? The thermostat is currently near the center of the structure, but towards the other side from the fireplace.

 

[acritzer]

Please please excuse my artwork! This is a rough sketch of the first and second floors. So the 2nd floor area would be on top of the family room/breakfast are...for the most part.

It's about 30' from the fireplace to then what opens up to the vaulted ceiling and the second floor landing area.

Hope this helps a little? Any thoughts.

 

[begreen]

That's helps a lot. The floorplan suggests that the stove is primarily going to heat the family room and kitchen area. The upstairs bedrooms will get some warming from the stove due to the heated space below. Do the stairs going to the 2nd floor start in the vaulted room area? Are there doors that close off the vaulted area from the kitchen/family room area?

One thing that would help distribute heat would be to run an insulated duct in the basement from the living room to near the fireplace. Heat distribution would be helped with an inline fan in the duct, pulling air from the living room and blowing it into the far end of the family room. There are some quiet inline fans that could be put on a thermostat in the family room so that when the room got above say 75º the fan comes on.

 

[acritzer]

The stair going to the second floor do begin in the entry way with the vaulted ceiling. There is a door between the kitchen and the "dining room"/vaulted ceiling room. There is a doorway (but no door) between the kitchen and the breakfast room. There is no door and no doorway from the family room to the entryway room...it's a very open transition.

I'll have to ask someone about adding duct work/fans/methods for distribution. That's definitely beyond my skills. Maybe also important to note that the living room area does not have basement under it. The basement is primarily under the entryway, kitchen, breakfast room and family room.

The thermostat is just inside the wall of the living room...basically on the far side of the entryway area.

 

[begreen]

Once the hot air spills out of the family room area into the entryway, it will want to pool up near the peak of the vaulted area. A ceiling fan up there will help move that air.

 

[acritzer]

What about a fan in the loft area? It's the highest part of the house and fairly open to the first floor, and almost lines up with the open stairs to the basement.

Of course I'm sitting in it now thinking it might work really well for pulling cool air up...maybe generating some flow from the basement?
In the winter it could also force hot air (likely to collect in that area) down?

The top of the loft ceiling is maybe 15' higher than the top of the entry way ceiling.