Stove Heat and Venting

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Indulge me for a moment here regarding a wood stove and venting that heat throughout a house....

I have a Pleasant Hearth wood stove rated at 1800 sq feet - works great. With a few (common) problems.

The living room will be 82 degrees, the kitchen 70, and our bedroom damn cold.

So, I was considering punching some holes in the walls for venting throughout the house and ran into the arguments about which way air circulates best, the trouble with a bedroom becoming less soundproof with vent installation, etc....

I came across a thread advocating using the centralized heating fan instead. We have a heat pump that's fairly new. We prefer to use the woodstove, but I can run the system on "fan only" to circulate air throughout the house.

So, in theory, the input vent for the heat pump, which is conveniently located in the living room near the stove, should pull the hot air throughout the rest of the house, right?

But then I got to thinking, if the hot air is being pulled out of the living room, taken clear outside to the heat pump and then being pushed back into the house, am I not likely losing a large amount of heat in that process?

Sorry for the long question, but would vents/exhaust fans being installed in rooms be more efficient?
 
While my stove heats the main house nicely, the addition off the back stays a little cool. I use a box fan to move cold air into the stove room and displace the warm air into the addition. Works well.
As far as using the furnace fan to move warm air, I've never had good luck with that. In fact I've used the furnace fan to cool the place down before.
 
jabush said:
....As far as using the furnace fan to move warm air, I've never had good luck with that. In fact I've used the furnace fan to cool the place down before.

Same for me. Never much luck as my stove is in the basement and my return air vent is centrally located on the floor above so it has to come from the far end, up the stairs and such. However, your arangement might just work, being close to the stove. It can't hurt to try.

cass
 
I kicked the fan on about half an hour ago and threw in a few extra logs.

The temperature in the living room (where the stove is located) has dipped significantly. From about 76 to 72. However, I think in theory that should be the case. The temp in the living room would drop and the temps in other rooms would rise while the heat circulated throughout the house. I think...

Anyway, I'm going to leave it on today and when it drops off cold tonight I'll either notice a substantial difference in the temperature of the bedroom, or it will still be the same and I'll have blown most of the heat today under my house.... :)

Even if it works though, there won't really be anyway to quantify how much heat I'm losing through my air ducts under the house.

At least, not that I can think of. Maybe my wood pile will shrink a little faster.....
 
We have a long hallway and the rear of the house can get a bit chilly. Easy solution: Place a small table fan (not pedestal) on the floor of the hallway and turn it on low speed. Aim the fan towards the stove. Works like a charm.
 
Jeremy, you should check the power consumption of the blower. Running the blower constantly might put your electric bill at near-summer levels.

For a decent size house, the fan-only function might draw 700 watts or so. If your concern is the bedroom, an electric radiant type heater would be a much more efficient use of those 700 watts.

Try measuring the ceiling temperature on either side of the bedroom door frame as the stove runs. If the difference is significant, you might see an improvement by knocking out part of the wall over the door frame.
 
Normally only the compressor is outside for a heat pump system. The air handler is usually inside. However, unless all the ductwork (supplies and returns) are well insulated and within the conditioned space, heat loss through the ducting system may negate the desired effect. Try Dennis's suggestion with a table or box fan on the floor, blowing air from the colder area towards the wood stove room.
 
Ceiling fan to move the air around can do wonderful things.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. With our bedroom - the door stays closed so the dogs don't get in during the day and make a mess. The result is a very cold bedroom, and unfortunately a floor fan wouldn't resolve that problem.

We've got ceiling fans in the living room and that definitely helps. I hadn't thought about the blower motor using a significant amount of electricity.

I might be better off installing a vent in the bedroom wall.
 
Doggie gate is much cheaper, and you can walk over it as the air flows through. Just watch out for the floor fan that Dennis mentioned :)
 
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