Would a ceiling fan be worth the investment?

[newman7786]

First of all thanks in advance for the advice. Alot of knowledge on this site! I will be burning my Century wood stove for the first time this fall and have a question about the best way to circulate the warm air. I have an older farm house that has been added on to before about 15 years before we moved in. The stove will be located in a large open living that is connected to the kitchen with a large doorway. Beyond the kitchen are the bedrooms that I would like to get the extra heat to. The bedrooms have ceiling fans in them already but the living room does not. All the rooms are on the same level, no stairs to deal with. I have read and know to move the cold air to the stove. I plan on putting a small fan on the floor of the kitchen to pull cold air from the bedrooms into the kitchen. The living room does not have a fan in it and the Mrs wants to put one in, but my question would that help circulate the warm air? The light we would replace is only about 3 feet from the stove. Sorry for the long post but I dont have a way to scan a drawing of my floor plan.

 

[bag of hammers]

Hi newman - just a note of caution - the light you replace may not have the proper box to support a fan. Depending on how it's mounted, you might be able to bolt / screw the fan (support) directly to the framing, otherwise a "regular" light fixture box is not code, and depending on what you install for a fan, it could be an issue (fan weight, vibration over time, etc.). Could be as simple as going in the attic and adding a 2x brace overtop of the box, etc. A bit off-topic but just something to keep in mind.

We have a couple ceiling fans in the living area with vaulted ceiling -similar to your setup in that the kitchen area is off to one side and wide entrance. The fans do seem to move the air around and into the kitchen area nicely. If she likes the fan for aesthetics, then why not give it a try, in addition to the other stuff you already have in place? Good luck with everything...

 

[newman7786]

Thanks for the quick response bag of hammers. That is one thing I am trying to explain to the Mrs thst it might not be a simple replacement. I am trying to explain to her that the cost of the fan might not help since it is so close to the stove.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I vote yes for the ceiling fan so long as it is run properly and that is blowing up in winter and down in summer. This follows the natural movement of the house air.

 

[weatherguy]

My ceiling fans help immensely, sounds like your set up is different but I can say it helped circulate the heat for me.

 

[Dave A.]

I plan on putting a small fan on the floor of the kitchen to pull cold air from the bedrooms into the kitchen.

I found that putting the small fans further away (like just inside the doorways of the far rooms) blowing the cool air at floor level towards the stove room works best for me at getting the heat back into those rooms.

From reading here about all of this, those back rooms are dead end rooms (only one door) and you need to get the air circulating into those spaces to make a convective loop.

 

[Sprinter]

A ceiling fan will help keep the warm air from stratifying and pooling near the ceiling, and get it circulating around some within the main area. I think it's value would be limited for the peripheral rooms, though. It would probably be worth it depending on installation issues.

 

[jacobk]

If you have tall ceilings the ceiling fan would help push the warm air down to move through the doorways. I have 10 foot ceilings in my house and found that a ceiling fan helps with air movement even at a low speed. Also as Dave said fans on the floor blowing towards the stove room helps with air circulation.

 

[PLAYS WITH FIRE]

Putting them in wit an "old work box" like this is very easy.

(broken link removed)

 

[Dix]

My ceiling fan near the PE (4', tops) is an essential part of my winter wood burning strategy. It gets the heat moving through the house.

With the ceiling fan on, blowing up in winter, I can heat the whole house, with out kicking in the 13 until it's about 30F outside.

Welcome to the forums, in case I missed you !!

 

[newman7786]

Thanks for all of the replies and sorry for not having a diagram of the house. Like I said, the bedrooms both have ceiling fans and I plan on running those to move some air along with a small fan on the floor of the kitchen. Maybe I will have to go back to the wife and tell her she was right......

 

[Sprinter]

Maybe I will have to go back to the wife and tell her she was right......

As much as it pains me, I find myself doing that more and more...

 

[Dix]

Thanks for all of the replies and sorry for not having a diagram of the house. Like I said, the bedrooms both have ceiling fans and I plan on running those to move some air along with a small fan on the floor of the kitchen. Maybe I will have to go back to the wife and tell her she was right......

We're schmart, that way

 

[Oregon aloha]

We have ceiling fans in every room. The one closest to the center of the house runs 24/7/365 down to cool and up to heat. The wood stove heats objects not the air. The air moving over and around objects picks up the heat and moves it around the house. The more air movement pushing toward the ceiling where its the warmest the more warm air in the house.

 

[save$]

We have 6 of them. One in a high ceiling. Does a good job. We run them on low.

 

[newman7786]

One last question on this subject. Since the bedrooms are going to be dead rooms as far air circulation should I run the fans in those rooms moving the air up or down? If the ceiling fan in the living room is pushing the warm air down and the fan on the kitchen floor is pulling cool air to the stove room should I run the bedroom fans the same way? Thanks for helping out a new guy looking forward to his first burning season!

 

[velvetfoot]

I have a virtually unused energy star ceiling fan I'd like to give away-only pick up though.

 

[billz]

Hi
The first two years I had my stove I tried using the ceiling fan but it didn't work all that great. So I had small fans around the house to move the air. Then the wife decided she wanted a new better looking ceiling fan. So I installed a new fan. I was amazed at how well the new fan moved the air out of that room. Now the ceiling fan is all I use. I'm not sure why the new fan works so good. Maybe it's better design. It's nice not having all the small fans around the house.

 

[Sprinter]

One last question on this subject. Since the bedrooms are going to be dead rooms as far air circulation should I run the fans in those rooms moving the air up or down? If the ceiling fan in the living room is pushing the warm air down and the fan on the kitchen floor is pulling cool air to the stove room should I run the bedroom fans the same way? Thanks for helping out a new guy looking forward to his first burning season!

Probably up, but you can try it both ways. It's nice that with upward flow on the fan you can't feel the breeze. If it's blowing down, it would feel drafty all the time.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Thats how i circulate the air in a 600Sf apartment. ceiling fan is about 8 Ft from the stove. It beats having floor fans all over the place.ANNNNNNNNNNND it has a remote

 

[SteveKG]

As far as up or down air movement in those rooms, you will really just have to experiment. But in any case, ceiling fans are quite efficient, at least mine are [talking electricity consumption]. Very good tools for increasing comfort and not at all expensive if you don't care about the fancy extras such as a half dozen lights built in.

 

[save$]

One last question on this subject. Since the bedrooms are going to be dead rooms as far air circulation should I run the fans in those rooms moving the air up or down? If the ceiling fan in the living room is pushing the warm air down and the fan on the kitchen floor is pulling cool air to the stove room should I run the bedroom fans the same way? Thanks for helping out a new guy looking forward to his first burning season!

I put them in two of our bedrooms. Now I think I can 't sleep right withour them.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I set them to blow the hot air down. That way it sends the hot air by the ceiling, down to the floor and then out in all directions and into the adjoining rooms from the stove room(as long as the doors are open). My theory is if it(ceiling fan) is set to pull the air up(which warm air is doing anyway) it then has to go out in all directions along the ceiling,then down the walls to the floor ,then back into the vacuum caused by the fan and up,thereby not getting into the adjoining rooms.

 

[WoodPorn]

First of all thanks in advance for the advice. Alot of knowledge on this site! I will be burning my Century wood stove for the first time this fall and have a question about the best way to circulate the warm air. I have an older farm house that has been added on to before about 15 years before we moved in. The stove will be located in a large open living that is connected to the kitchen with a large doorway. Beyond the kitchen are the bedrooms that I would like to get the extra heat to. The bedrooms have ceiling fans in them already but the living room does not. All the rooms are on the same level, no stairs to deal with. I have read and know to move the cold air to the stove. I plan on putting a small fan on the floor of the kitchen to pull cold air from the bedrooms into the kitchen. The living room does not have a fan in it and the Mrs wants to put one in, but my question would that help circulate the warm air? The light we would replace is only about 3 feet from the stove. Sorry for the long post but I dont have a way to scan a drawing of my floor plan.

Though my electrical license does not cover your state, I'd be happy to walk you through the installation.
Payback on the fan is instant, warm weather included.
I highly suggest it.

 

[Sprinter]

Here's a nice illustration showing the difference between up and down.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/attachments/ceiling-fans_h-jpg.81051/

Of course, it's going to be a matter of what works best for you . Fortunately, it's easy to experiment with...