Comments for Energy Resources Journal

Comment on How can I use the heat from my fireplace to heat my two story home? ? by rmm720

rmm720 — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 21:48:52 +0000

In my house I use corner fans in the entryways leading from my great room where my fireplace is to help disperse the heat.
These are specially designed fans which you affix in the corner of doorways to pull the heat from that room. You will have to put screws into the door frame to hold the fan, but you can use small ones which don’t show when the fan is up. position the fan so that it is turning in the direction you want the air to go. Don’t put them up so they blow air back into our den!
I found mine in a Sportsmans Guide catalog, but I’m sure you can find them on their website or on eBay. Hope this helps!

Comment on How can I use the heat from my fireplace to heat my two story home? ? by Brendon

Brendon — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 21:07:59 +0000

We had copper pipes put into the walls ,filled then with water ,and ran them through the back of the fire place ,the convection current carried the warm water up stairs to heat the entire house

Comment on How can I use the heat from my fireplace to heat my two story home? ? by oikos

oikos — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 20:08:50 +0000

Lotsa luck. We heat our small rancher with a wood stove and still have cold spots. A fireplace has a heating efficiency of no more than 10%. Your insert probably raises it to about 30%. A Franklin-type stove is only a little better. Our air starvation stove is about as good as any but is still only about 60% efficient.

We do get some benefit from box fans to direct the heat where wanted.

In your case, You will probably do well to consider wood-burning as a supplemental source of heat. I trust that you have already insulated heavily, weather-stripped, and such.

Comment on How can I use the heat from my fireplace to heat my two story home? ? by Attorney

Attorney — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 19:25:44 +0000

This is a common problem with fireplaces and attempting to heat a home with a fireplace.

One possibility is to use your furnace fan – if you have a forced air furnace turn it on and it will circulate the air. Another is to get some movable box type fans and blow the air around, e.g. through the doors and up the stairs, etc. I doubt if either of these will be very efficient.

However, I lived in a ranch house that had a wood-burner in the basement. It actually had a hole in the floor in main floor hallway covered by a louvre and a fan mounted in-between the floor joists to blow the hot air from basement to the main floor (upstairs). This worked well and kept the basement from overheating and allowed the entire house to be heated by the wood-burner in the basement. This saved lots of propane for a few cords of wood. I have no idea of the cost or if this solution would work for your house.

Good luck.

Comment on How can I use the heat from my fireplace to heat my two story home? ? by bluecoachdave@sbcglobal.net

bluecoachdave@sbcglobal.net — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 19:12:09 +0000

Heat does rise but you need to move the air. you need to replace cold air in your bedroom with warm air. Are you running your furnace on fan only to move the air around your house. If you do not have a furnace you need to find a way to move the air…

Also passive solar heating is using the sun to help heat your house cheaply and low tech, Exp Open shades to let light in. The mass of walls and furniture will hold heat and radiate Heat until they get to room temp. Dark colors absorb sun energy better.

Comment on How can I use the heat from my fireplace to heat my two story home? ? by StanS

StanS — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 18:33:08 +0000

It really depends on how your home was built and what kind of fireplace you have. I have a friend who lives in the mountains and his home can be heated by his fireplace. It is in the middle of the house, and has ‘outlets’ in most rooms to help distribute heat throughout the home. The home was built with this in mind.

Most fireplaces in homes today are more of a decoration. They’re not built to be functional home heaters. Think about it …if your fireplace is on an outside wall, what’s the purpose? Certainly not to heat the place!

To be more energy friendly, make sure the house is insulated throughout. Installing double pane windows with low-e glass can do wonders for keeping the cold out.

Comment on How can I use the heat from my fireplace to heat my two story home? ? by peter w

peter w — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 17:35:56 +0000

you could jig saw up some tires and burn them in your incinerator slash burner that will really warm up those family heirlooms and baby pictures when i git old i want to be asked a question like do you regret doing anything and im going to reply ya i should have not listen to everyone else and done what i had dreamed about

Comment on How can I use the heat from my fireplace to heat my two story home? ? by Enigma

Enigma — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 17:11:30 +0000

You install a back boiler which is heated by the fire in your home

Comment on How can I use the heat from my fireplace to heat my two story home? ? by Jerry Lee

Jerry Lee — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 17:02:36 +0000

If you have a central system, you might be able to run it on “FAN” only to circulate the heat.

Comment on How can I use the heat from my fireplace to heat my two story home? ? by vicinic

vicinic — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:04:23 +0000

cut a hole in the floor of your bedroom and put a fan on it to pull air directly up instead of trying to come up the stairwell.