Sizing Stove for suplemental heat and ambiance

[easyrider470]

I am building a new home starting in February and would like some guidance on the sizing of a wood stove for the living room. My build will be energy efficient with a sealed envelope and super insulation. We will be heating the house with an outdoor wood furnace through forced air with heat exchangers in the ductwork along with some radiant floor heat..
My question is how do I size a stove to be for ambiance and emergency heating only? The house is 4400 sq ft 2 story w/ walk out basement. I don't really want to do a traditional fireplace because of the air draw and for the lack of actual heat going into the house.
We really desire to have the open flame and the snap crackle pop of the fire burning but I realize that having that is not at all energy efficient.
Give me some pointers on how to gauge what size stove would do what I am wanting to do. Thanks.

 

[logger]

I wouldnt worry about going to big on a stove, 4,400 sq ft is an awfully big space. I'd first want to figure out the type of stove I was looking for. Soapstone, cast, steel, or a steel/cast combo. Then look at the makes for that style and the sizes the companies carry.

 

[begreen]

It is a very large house. This sounds like a 2 stove home, especially if there are high ceilings. Consider putting in a large EPA zero-clearance fireplace like a Kozy42, FPX 44 Elite, RSF Opel etc. You can duct the heat off of some of these units to help distribute the heat. For a freestanding (second) stove consider a Kuma Sequoia or Blaze King King.

 

[DMB]

If I understand your needs properly you are not looking for a wood stove to be the primary heat source of your home...primarily ambiance and emergency heat. With that said I would lean towards a non-catalytic stove (fire is typically prettier) and one could argue they are easier to operate. With the size of your house I would get something with a 3.0 cubic box. Also If you are serious about ambiance and good looks...in my opionion I would go with a cast stove or possibly a soapstone stove. Jotul makes beatiful stoves, mayble you could consider the Jotul F600, or I would recommend the stove that I have which is the Hearthstone Manchester. It has a soapstone lined firebox and cast exterior.

More to the point, with the square footage your putting out there most people on here are going to tell you to go BIG.

 

[eclecticcottage]

I agree, if it's just for looks, figure out the type (cast, steel, soapstone) you want more than what size you'll need.

 

[easyrider470]

All, keep in mind that I am not installing the stove for "LOOKS" it will be totally functional and used quite often for ambiance. That being said, it will also be an emergency heat source should there be a total power loss, and possibly to take the edge off before we start up the big outdoor wood furnace for the winter.
So i don't want some rinky dink decorative stove, it needs to work and work well and provide heat and ambiance like a fireplace would, but without the air and energy draw from the house. Does that make sense? Is that the right move or should I just go ahead with the fireplace and call it a day?

 

[Cynnergy]

None of the stoves listed above are 'rinky dink'. They are all seriously serious heaters. They vary quite a lot in looks, ways that they produce and/or distribute heat, and price point, but they will all put out a lot of heat. Just because something looks pretty doesn't mean it can't get the job done (shout out to my fellow ladies on the forum ).

Just keep in mind that a woodstove is a space heater, and you are building a very big house. What floor will it be on? It's unlikely that you'll get much heat to go down unless you use BG's excellent suggestion of an EPA fireplace that you can tie into your duct work. Other options might be to build in sliding or glass doors so that you can shut some rooms off that you don't need to heat all of the time. That way you could use the stove more often and feed the furnace less.

 

[begreen]

Check out the zc fireplaces I recommended. Once you see the install price you will not be thinking rinky dink. These are seriously efficient yet beautiful fireplaces.

 

[easyrider470]

So I have been doing a lot of research and one thing I have figured out that I don't like is that a couple of the fireplaces I have been looking at such as the Quadrafire 7100 EP need electricity to operate correctly? Well, part of the reason I am making such a big deal about the stove/fireplace is that I don't want to have to deal with the electricity being a problem for heating in the event of a total power loss and freezing temps.
Can stoves that are piped into the ductwork be shut off from that ductwork so they just function as a fireplace in the event of a power loss?

 

[begreen]

If power outages are a serious and frequent concern you would be much better off installing a nice freestanding stove like a Hearthstone Equinox or a generator or a nice masonry stove like a Tulikivi.

 

[xtrordinair]

i say fpx 44 .great looks ,puts out alot of heat if you want it.

 

[HotCoals]

You are asking for a lot and it will not happen. any stove would struggle with that big a house.
Buy a big nice looking stove and a gen to keep the outside unit going if the power goes out.
Some stoves come with a screen so you can see and hear the fire better.

 

[begreen]

How well is the FPX44 going to heat if the power is out? Flush units haven't impressed me without a blower running.

 

[easyrider470]

Power outages aren't a real regular deal but I am thinking long term, if there is an extended power outage the fireplace/ stove could be a resource and with an electric powered whatever type system that's not what I want.
I'm also not looking to supplement heat because we heat with the outdoor wood furnace. I have heat to spare.
I'm leaning towards a masonry fireplace or something like the renaissance rumford or even the heatilator Birmingham. All of which meet the ambiance requirement I am looking for as well as they don't need any electric power to work. Additionally they don't provide any supplemental heat which is not really something I am looking for
Any opinions or experience with any of these units??

 

[easyrider470]

I was thinking originally that I may want to be able to supplement in the shoulder seasons... But I burn the boiler year round so there really isn't a reason that I can't just open one valve on the manifolds and have heat if needed. Ambiance is the main driver with heat as a by product

 

[xman23]

So the stove is a backup for the wood furnace. I would get a good generator setup to run the furnace, and just do a fireplace.......just kidding.
We almost built a fireplace, until we saw an Oslo. It can be run open without the front door. Fireplace and stove, all in one. Snap, crackle, pop.... , 12 years and it has never been run open.

 

[Charles1981]

With that size of house one stove needs to be placed appropriately near major plumbing. So If you are building your house is most of the plumbing geared towards one half of the house versus the other? If so i would concentrate on installing the biggest freestanding stove you can get and gear installation to where it is needed most ...centered near plumbing.

But one single stove with 4+cu ft fire box probably isn't going to do a good job heating the size you are talking about. The ideal situation is 2 very large stoves on opposite ends of the house.

 

[easyrider470]

Thanks for the reply Charles, but i'm not trying to heat the whole house with a wood stove or stoves. We have an extremely capable outdoor wood furnace that will heat the house with ease. I was orginally asking about a wood stove/insert that could provide suplemental heat in a no power situation...however, I intend to burn this frieplace pretty much every day during the winter...my family loves to have a fire going in the back ground and we have a bottomless pit of quality seasoned firewood to burn.
That being said I am leaning toward exactly what xman23 said....investing in a sound LP generator set up and putting in a fireplace. I am after ambiance and warmth is a bi-product

 

[Ash]

3.0 cubic foot firebox stove. Check out the quadra fire isle royale in porcelain mahogany. It's a beauty that puts out some serious heat.

 

[begreen]

easyrider, in order to recommend a stove we need to know a bit about the actual location it will be in. How large an area will you be trying to heat with the stove? What is the ceiling height in this area? How open is it to the rest of the house?