Using central a/c to circulate

[liberty]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this but here I go. Can I use the central A/C system to circulate the heat throughout the house when I burn my fireplace? The system is entirely in the attic. Would there be too much heat loss this way? An additional benefit would be the Hepa filtration through the system. Has anybody tried this? Thanks

 

[Wet1]

I think you'll find there's too much heat loss. I have read about many people trying to do this over on Hearth, but few seem to have much success with it. Plus you have to factor in the cost to run the system...

 

[Wood Scrounge]

I use the house fan to move the air around the house, I moved an air intake vent as near as possibile to my stove. It helps a little

 

[dnf0929]

The room where our stove is has a vaulted ceiling so I put returns up high with the hopes of using the fan to circulate the hot air. Didn't work like I thought it would. I just put the ceiling fan in that room on low and it pushes the warmer air down and spreads to rest of the house.

 

[projectsho89]

Of course you can use your central blower to circulate air. That's what it's for.

Any attic installation better have had the ducts insulated if it was a professional HVAC install. You shouldn't lose any more heat that way than you'd waste cool air while running the AC during the summer.

I'd re-set the blower to it's lowest speed if it's adjustable for this. You don't need to be blasting relatively cool air through the house, you just want to keep it circulating. Call your HVAC pro if you need help on how to do this if you're not sure what to do. Usually, it involves moving a jumper wire in the blower control unit.

Don't expect miracles, but you will redistribute the warm air within the building.

Steve

 

[mtfallsmikey]

Mostly just changing the fan speed inside the air handler at the relay. Fan motor leads are marked as to which speed. typical is:

Black: hi
Red: low
Yellow: med.

Just switch t-stat to Fan On position, system switch off.

try it, you may like it as is.

 

[iowawoodcutter]

I have a return right above my woodstove and have blocked off all the rest of the returns. All my ducts are run in the floor between the basement and main (no second floor) floor. Only 1250 square feet upstairs and 1000 finished in the basement. You would think this would be the perfect setup for using the A/C to move warm air....but it does not work for squat. Works best if I leave the A/C off, the blower off on the woodstove, and just let it sit there and bake...

 

[PA Plumber]

Two story house with approx. 2500 sq. ft. not including the basement.
Wood stove is in the basement.
I also cut a couple of returns near the wood stove.
When it gets fairly cold ~ low twenties and cooler, I turn on the furnace fan at bath time and in the morning.
Definitely helps warm up the 2nd floor.