Heating a house with wood

[VW Splitter]

Heating your home is the biggest chunk of your electric bill. The second biggest portion is the water heater. Find a stove that will heat your water also. I modified my stove by building a 1 1/2 inch chamber on one side of it with a 60 ft coil of 1/2 inch copper in the chamber. A small pump circulates water thru the copper pipe and into a 50 gal storage tank when the stove is up and running, which is 24/7 when the wether is cold. When we need hot water it draws out of the storage tank then thru a big electric instant hot water heater that is set at 130 degrees, so we always get at least 130 degree hot water. Sence my 2 kids got married and moved out, with just me and the wife, I can turn the instant hot off and just heat with the wood stove. The water in the storage tank will stay between 95 and 145 degrees, depending on when the last shower was taken. If you are going to have a fire going to heat the house, why not heat the water also? More $$$$ for you instead of the power Co. 1900 sq ft house, my electric bill runs around $75 in the winter. The colder it gets, the more hot water I make, the more my electric bill drops. The heat pump never comes on in the winter. Sometimes we do have to open a window to let in a little cool air.

 

[half]

wood burner

I have a woodburner in my lounge it put out 70.BTU or 19.5 kw I have a duct system in the bedrooms from the lounge ceiling. the thermostat is about 4ft from the floor, so the lounge is always warm before the heat is transferred, by inline fan.. This also takes filtered warm air from roof cavity and pumps this into the house too,during the day.
I can shut off this intake and reverse the fan to suck warm air into the rest of the house.from the lounge.
In summer I can open the ceiling intake, and set the main thermostat to take ceiling air and pump it back into the house, I usually set this at about 10c below the inside temp and when the temp drops to that it pumps cool air inside to cool the house to make sleeping easy.

So to sum up I have a duct system from the lounge to the bedrooms, with a fan ,and a ceiling feed filter with a shut off. electrically controlled by switch.
I have 2 control panels The main one controls the fan direction, the ceiling inlet and the temp settings for this. during the day it always maintains a small positive pressure inside the house from the ceiling, this keeps mound and condensation at bay. this has a setting for ventilation and temp settings. All things can be shut off if required
the lounge control just turns on the fan and shuts the ceiling inlet to pump warm air through the house. the main control in the hallway will override the lounge controls

So now it is 4.08 pm in summer and the control panel says ceiling temp 44c.inside house temp 23c fan start setting 20c, so the fan is not running fast as the ceiling temp is too high. it is just idling to keep positive pressure inside the house and you dont even hear it and it makes no difference to inside temps. so once the ceiling temp goes below 20 c the fan will blow cool air inside. once the inside temp reaches 20c the fan will stop and idle during the night

 

[brenndatomu]

Nope, you can't count on that. The stairwell will act as a natural inversion block. You need active venting, not passive. If you are counting on this being a natural convection flow you will be disappointed.

The Amish are masters at heating a large farm house with gravity only heat off a wood or coal fired stove/furnace.

Referring back to my earlier post where I referred to someone posting on AS that they were getting good results with heating the whole house with a stove via a front and back stairwell. Well, if I remember this correctly, I think he said something about having to "jump start" the air flowing by running up the front stairs and down the back a time or two!

 

[Mad Professor]

Wow! So many responses and so many things to consider. To clarify, when I say I want to heat the entire house, what I really want to accomplish is keeping the house livable in all areas - the bedrooms being cooler is a given. I'm not expecting that each room will be regulated to within a degree of each other.

This stove will be located in the basement in the near exact center of the building. The basement family room will be the main gathering place for the house so we want the stove in that room. It will be next to the staircase, so should have good airflow up the stairs. With some vents along the walls upstairs, that should promote natural air circulation through that half of the house. Getting the warm air down the halls and into the bedrooms will be the big challenge...so that's where I'm thinking that either the cold air return with the furnace fan distributing the warm air, or perhaps a secondary duct system as suggested in a previous post will be the ticket. Sleeping in a cold(er) bedroom is fine by me, but a cold(er) master bath in the morning might not be appreciated by my wife.

I'm pleased to hear that so many people have managed heating primarily with wood, and have kept their utility bills low. Ultimately, that's the real goal. I love wood heat. I grew up with it, and I consider a day spent cutting, splitting, and stacking firewood a real therapeutic experience...and a good workout to boot. To have a heat source that costs so little to acquire and then use it to save money on the utility bills is the motivation.

I don't yet have the quotes for ICF forms for the basement and spray foam insulation, but I'm hoping I can afford these modern insulating techniques to build a tight structure. I've gotten varying opinions on different heating/cooling options, but universally I've been told to spend more on insulation than to chase after the latest heating/cooling technology.

The primary system is likely to be an air source heat pump with electric plenum back-up. That'll give me access to the electric co-op's off-peak rates, so the utility bill shouldn't be a killer. Yes, I would like to keep the electric heat off as much as possible and use wood to heat the house, but on those really cold snaps (-10 to -20), I may have to ask the plennum to pick up the slack.

Regards,

Kyle

I'd put in floor vents for convection to each room. Side rooms in basement too. Should have a baffle that can be closed as needed. The old cast iron ones in the farmhouses I've lived in worked great. You might consider a big one right above the basement stove.

 

[snowdingo]

Hi folks - I've read several threads about the stoves people have in their homes. Oftentimes the comment is something like "I have xxxxxxx stove, and I can heat my entire 2500 sq ft home with it." Ok, that sounds great. But my understanding is that stoves are basically space heaters, and even though heat rises and can create it's own air currents, I question the ability of a free-standing stove (or fireplace) to create heat that makes its way to every room in the house.

Obviously, a stove's location and the house design is going to have an impact. For those of you who are heating with wood, what is your set-up that allows you to keep the home warm and the electric or gas furnace running at a minimum.

Regards,

Kyle Sands <>< Alexandria, MN

P.S. My question is prompted by the fact that I am planning to build a house this spring and intend to install a free-standing stove (no outdoor boiler, no wood-fired furnace - I like the ambiance of a flame in my main living area). I'd like to use this heater as much as possible rather than rely on electricity or gas.

I've been having good luck using a zero clearance fireplace (in this case an RSF Opel) with a central air blower. I had the same objectives in that I wanted to heat with wood, wanted to enjoy a traditional wood fireplace, and wanted to distribute the air throughout the house. It takes the air from around the firebox and circulates it through your furnace ductwork (in my case, we added the fireplace into an existing system). It heats my 3500 sq.ft home, even in the -30 celsius weather we see in northern BC.

 

[zogger]

Heating your home is the biggest chunk of your electric bill. The second biggest portion is the water heater. Find a stove that will heat your water also. I modified my stove by building a 1 1/2 inch chamber on one side of it with a 60 ft coil of 1/2 inch copper in the chamber. A small pump circulates water thru the copper pipe and into a 50 gal storage tank when the stove is up and running, which is 24/7 when the wether is cold. When we need hot water it draws out of the storage tank then thru a big electric instant hot water heater that is set at 130 degrees, so we always get at least 130 degree hot water. Sence my 2 kids got married and moved out, with just me and the wife, I can turn the instant hot off and just heat with the wood stove. The water in the storage tank will stay between 95 and 145 degrees, depending on when the last shower was taken. If you are going to have a fire going to heat the house, why not heat the water also? More $$$$ for you instead of the power Co. 1900 sq ft house, my electric bill runs around $75 in the winter. The colder it gets, the more hot water I make, the more my electric bill drops. The heat pump never comes on in the winter. Sometimes we do have to open a window to let in a little cool air.

We need some pics and some more detail on your home made hot water setup!

 

[half]

heating water

yes mine has a "wet back"as we call them. the woodburner is through the wall from the electric water cylinder.about 8ft away.The pipes are lagged as well.The woodburner has a serpentine pipe running along the back of the firebox and out the side at the top and bottom. It is connected to the top pipe on the cylinder and the bottom pipe on the cylinder.The water moves around on its own.There is an overflow pipe out of the top going about 15 ft above the roof. The electric thermostat is always connected, and in the middle of winter with the woodburner going, you can hear the water blowing out of the overflow pipe, and the water is near boiling out of the tap, great care is required when turning on taps.As they spit steam and very hot water. the cylinder is wrapped with a thermal blanket and power use in winter is real light. Our water heating bill is more in summer. they are brilliant

 

[rmount]

Quote Originally Posted by Snojetter View Post
... It will be next to the staircase, so should have good airflow up the stairs. ...

Nope, you can't count on that. The stairwell will act as a natural inversion block. You need active venting, not passive. If you are counting on this being a natural convection flow you will be disappointed.

I don't understand how a staircase can act as a block. Our 2nd floor is only heated by what goes up the enclosed staircase and is always as warm as the main floor livingroom where the stove is. We use no fans or grates.

Another thing that helps air flow is to install transom windows above interior doorways, this was popular in the 19th century to improve both heating and cooling.

 

[Ironworker]

I have a center hall colonial and when the stove guy came over he said it is a perfect design to heat with wood. I wanted a free standing stove in the back room but he said an insert in the front room where my fireplace is would be fine and he was right, the downstairs is an open floor plan and the stairs are in the front right next to the stove room and the heat goes right up and heats up all the rooms evenly.

 

[jjett84724]

I heat our home with a wood burning stove. I had a intake vent for the heater installed above the wood burner and kick the fan on to move heat around the house. It works pretty well. A little bit of planning when building your house will go a long ways.

 

[VW Splitter]

We need some pics and some more detail on your home made hot water setup!

I will do that, probably with a new thread. I need to figure out that picture posting thing.

 

[agstr]

Ingenuity......

Heating your home is the biggest chunk of your electric bill. The second biggest portion is the water heater. Find a stove that will heat your water also. I modified my stove by building a 1 1/2 inch chamber on one side of it with a 60 ft coil of 1/2 inch copper in the chamber. A small pump circulates water thru the copper pipe and into a 50 gal storage tank when the stove is up and running, which is 24/7 when the wether is cold. When we need hot water it draws out of the storage tank then thru a big electric instant hot water heater that is set at 130 degrees, so we always get at least 130 degree hot water. Sence my 2 kids got married and moved out, with just me and the wife, I can turn the instant hot off and just heat with the wood stove. The water in the storage tank will stay between 95 and 145 degrees, depending on when the last shower was taken. If you are going to have a fire going to heat the house, why not heat the water also? More $$$$ for you instead of the power Co. 1900 sq ft house, my electric bill runs around $75 in the winter. The colder it gets, the more hot water I make, the more my electric bill drops. The heat pump never comes on in the winter. Sometimes we do have to open a window to let in a little cool air.

http://www.arboristsite.com/images/smilies/msp_unsure.gif

Must be a lot safer than a water boiler stove for generating hot water -- some of the newer water tanks have inlets to also heat water from an alternate energy source (solar, etc---e.g. Marathon heaters) -- was thinking about a system circulating fluid from a closed loop thru the water tank to heat water and then the electric becomes a backup of sorts or in the summer when not using the wood stove. Could also put in a holding tank to increase heat availability for possible radiant heat systems. Of course the 'think system' doesn't get it done.....

 

[Chris-PA]

Our house is a collection of two small stone/log structures from the 1830's connected together with a frame addition sometime in the 1950's. There is little insulation in the stone/log portions and not much more in the frame parts, although I've added what I can there and in the attics. Unfortunately one section has half-attic rooms and there is not much space for insulation in the lower parts. The main stove is in and old cook fireplace in the basement of that larger part, which is a bank house having two full basement windows and a door.

I modified the duct work of the now-defunct oil fired hot air system to pull hot air off the top of the basement room (this is a living space too) and blow it around the house. I use a cheap thermostat to control it so it won't blow really cold air. There is another small stove in the room directly above that basement, which we use alone on warmer days or to supplement on colder ones. That stove is also in a fairly large old firebox. Both stoves are in a masonry end wall surrounded by a lot of stone.

The blower does a decent job of keeping the rooms warm - to our expectations anyway. We ran both stoves yesterday and last night it was 95 in the basement, maybe mid 70's in the living room above. This morning after the stove cooled down and the blower shut off it was 52 in our bedroom at the farthest room. The temperature varies a lot over time and room in our house - this seems perfectly normal to us and no one really gives it much thought. I never get up to reload the stove in the middle of the night. It is really a matter of expectations.

I plan on installing some iron grates so that I don't have to run the blower - it's loud and uses about 800W. If I can afford to do it, there is a sun porch I will be rebuilding and I plan to add a wood-fired cook stove there. This will alow me to heat the other side of the house, and allow pre-heating of water and of course cooking. I've been dreaming about this for a long time now but I have not been able to scrape up the time or money.

If you build a house with the intent of wood heat, add some means of thermal storage - usually a masonry structure with a large thermal mass. Basically a trombe wall but heated by the stove instead of the sun. This will keep things from cooling off the moment the stove burns low.

 

[LelandJF]

To start, I am much happier with heating our home with the wood stove than my wife is, specifically due to the couple of box fans in front of the wood stove to help pass more air and obtain more useable heat from the stove. However, she can't argue with the savings of burning the wood that I acquire for free. In January, we only paid for the electric for the fans, which can easily be run off of a generator when needed.

My first floor is in an L shape with the stove on one end and the master bedroom on the other end which is a terrible setup for natural heat distribution / air circulation. The central part of the home has a second floor. My recently installed HVAC system has an additional return with a booster fan directly above the stove and I leave my furnace fan on to circulate the air in the whole house. The HVAC system has drastically improved the use of the wood stove. The stove area is warmer but not uncomfortable like it was before the forced air system was installed.

With attention paid to the stove, a fan or two in front of it to increase the amount of heated air and not turning on the furnace, the warmest area is about 80 (we watch tv in shorts and T-shirts), back bedroom is mid to upper 60's(we use blankets) and the upstairs is low 70's (we have a toddler and an infant that do not use blankets). I have yet to adjust the dampers to improve the heat distribution, so I am anticipating even better results.

Perfect, no. Happy, yes.

If you want to use a wood stove, you will be happy. If you want to replace a furnace, there is a chance you won't be happy. I hope you see the difference.

 

[savageactor7]

Our wood stove does not heat the entire house evenly...but I like it that way. Sure when it's real cold we hunker around the stove more but most of the time one of the charms for wood heat, for me anyway, is that I can retreat to a cooler area of the house.

 

[hunterbuild]

I hate the noise of stove fans. We use ceiling fans. We heat our main living area this way and the heat is fairly even. The bedroom which is 4 steps down stays about two degrees cooler.

 

[Snojetter]

It's interesting that you say you gather around the stove on those really cold evenings. To me, that would be a huge charm of the stove...almost like the scene you get from the pioneer days when the whole family did all their activities around the fireplace - both for heat and light. It's a gathering place, a place of security.

I'm not concerned about even heating, just better distribution so that I'm not overheating one area; if there's extra heat - which I know there will be - I'd like to be able to get that moved into areas that are a little cooler. Simple as that.

Kyle

 

[savageactor7]

Yes that too^...but in the end this house is heated more to keep the wife at the proper temp than me.

 

[johnnylabguy]

We have a masonry heater in our home with an open floor plan with bedrooms upstairs; the house is warm with one or two fires a day, as advertised--the certified mason knew his businesss. My general contractor was very skeptical of the concept (he naturally wanted his HVAC guy to sell me a junk system that would be expensive to run) and despite objections from even my wife, I made the plunge and contracted one to be built. The family is very happy with it, is a natural congregation point and really doesn't generate much smoke at all -- if also allows us to burn low btu wood more efficiently. Yup it was expensive but that is what hard work and saving (if possible) for a goal gets. Does my heart good to wean ourselves off energy monopolies and keeps the money circulating locally.

agstr have you ever posted pics of your masonry heater? Steer me to them if you have! Those things really intrigue me. Glad it works well for you!