Stove Placement

[Moranaj]

Sorry for the childish sketches but its the best I was able to do on my phone. I have a 3600 sqft side split level home that I tried to depict. I currently have a freestanding stove on the mid level because it was the only place we could really put it because the house was absolutely not built with wood heating in mind. It works pretty well considering its a less than ideal place for a stove because some of the rooms are far away and around a lot of corners.. anyway my fiance and I arent using the two first floor bedrooms unless we have guests over so weve got the heat off in those two rooms to save on our electricbill. We currently have all the electric off except for in the 1st floor family room. And our bill has dropped from 750 a month to keep the house at 60 to 150 a month to have it significantly warmer.

Eventually we will be using the other rooms and having to heat them would will be costly with electric so i have a few questions..... bedroom number 1 is probably the best candidate for a stove because well.... its one of the only places one will fit and it would have to be on an exterior wall. Will this location work for the whole first level? Can I expect heat to rise through the ceiling into the third floor(am i going to sweat to death with two stoves running)? Is running 2 stoves just taking on too much? And would a pellet stove be a better option in terms of ease of use because running two wood stoves seems like it could get overwhelming at times? Or... is that a poor location in general for heating purposes?

 

[Blue Heron Hideaway]

I dont think you can put a wood stove in a bedroom. Not sure on a pellet stove. Look into propane unit or minisplit units very economical. are you paying for wood? Other option is if you can put one in the familyroom.

 

[Moranaj]

I wasnt aware that you couldnt put a stove in a bedroom. Unfortunately there is no way I can put a stove in that family room or I would have put my hearthstone there. Currently I have electric heat with individual thermostats in each room. I was just reading up on minisplits and from what Im reading cant understand how that would be more effecient than the electric I have in place.... i dont know about propane because i hate the way those tanks look and propane isnt terribly cheap. Hopefully those arent my only two options

 

[Moranaj]

Also I dont know if not being able to put a stove in a bedroom has to do with access to an exit, but both bedrooms have their own entrances from the driveway

 

[begreen]

Also I dont know if not being able to put a stove in a bedroom has to do with access to an exit, but both bedrooms have their own entrances from the driveway

It has to do with air supply I believe. Most stove manuals have specific language against installing in a bedroom. There have been exceptions made for particularly large bedrooms with an open entrance (no door) in some jurisdictions. This would be up to the local inspecting authority and the insurance company.

 

[maple1]

I wasnt aware that you couldnt put a stove in a bedroom. Unfortunately there is no way I can put a stove in that family room or I would have put my hearthstone there. Currently I have electric heat with individual thermostats in each room. I was just reading up on minisplits and from what Im reading cant understand how that would be more effecient than the electric I have in place.... i dont know about propane because i hate the way those tanks look and propane isnt terribly cheap. Hopefully those arent my only two options

Do more reading on mini-splits. Look at 'COP' numbers. A COP of 1 means one unit of heat for one unit of electricity used. Which would be equivalent to your electric baseboards. New efficient cold climate mini-splits can have COPs over 4, which means they give 4 units of heat for one unit of electricity used. Or, 4 times the heat than what your baseboards are giving. That goes down as it gets colder out. But they still pump out a lot of heat way more efficiently than your baseboards at temps well below freezing outside. That is the way I would go rather than investing in another stove & chimney & all that goes with it.

IMO they are the cheapest way to heat, aside from wood heat. But might even be cheaper than that if you have to buy all your wood.

Local climate will influence - not sure what yours is.

 

[Moranaj]

It has to do with air supply I believe. Most stove manuals have specific language against installing in a bedroom. There have been exceptions made for particularly large bedrooms with an open entrance (no door) in some jurisdictions. This would be up to the local inspecting authority and the insurance company.

Hmmm if its an air supply issue Im guessing a pellet stove is out of the question too. Thats unfortunate.

I like the sound of the minisplits if what youre telling me about them being 4 times as efficient as baseboard is true. Ultimately id prefer to be independent of electricity but its looking like i cant avoid it.

 

[Blue Heron Hideaway]

the other plus of mini splits is the y give you a/c if you dont have it. You may be able to do pellet stove but you need to check with your building code.

 

[EbS-P]

I have 600 sq ft walkout basement with another 600 sq for of garage that will be converted to living space in the future. I already have a masonary fireplace down there but can’t see how it would be a cost saving install vs an effccient mini split. Liner alone would be $1000-1500. I have to buy or scrounge wood after this year. I have easy access to pull wire and empty breakers. A pellet stove is where I’m leaning if I go the wood burning route and that doesn’t solve AC in garrage. But most likely I will go with a mini split. I would suggest you look into location and venting requirements for pellet stoves if you don’t like the heat suggestion. Can’t horizontally terminate a wood stove. And programmable thermostat turning unit on and off is nice. Hope that is helpful Evan

 

[Moranaj]

I have 600 sq ft walkout basement with another 600 sq for of garage that will be converted to living space in the future. I already have a masonary fireplace down there but can’t see how it would be a cost saving install vs an effccient mini split. Liner alone would be $1000-1500. I have to buy or scrounge wood after this year. I have easy access to pull wire and empty breakers. A pellet stove is where I’m leaning if I go the wood burning route and that doesn’t solve AC in garrage. But most likely I will go with a mini split. I would suggest you look into location and venting requirements for pellet stoves if you don’t like the heat suggestion. Can’t horizontally terminate a wood stove. And programmable thermostat turning unit on and off is nice. Hope that is helpful Evan
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I actually had never heard of a mini split until now. Im going to look into it since it sounds like a good option for me. Im happy that between my LED lights, and the stove my electric bill is 20% of what it was last year. I dont necessarily want the added work of a second stove I just dont want the electric bill skyrocket when we eventually use those rooms

 

[begreen]

There are several threads on mini-splits performance in the green room forum here.