# Getting heat downstairs from upstairs Fireplace



## Hurricane (Sep 25, 2009)

I need to heat my finished basement this coming winter and would hate to pay for electric heat when I have a great Quad 5100 insert upstairs that blows tons of heat. I was thinking of installing a return register at the top of the wall of the hallway next to the room with the insert. Downstairs I was going to run insulated 6-8 in flex pipe to the opposite end of the basement with a blower and install a round register in the drop ceiling down there. I have tried circulating the air using the central air/heat fan and that was worthless, the vents were too cool and cooled down the warm air. 
I am thinking the upstairs air at the ceiling will be between 78 - 84 when the stove is operating, the stairs to the basement are open and come up right in the room with the insert. I do not think I will cause any negative pressure issues since the air that is forced down will force air up at the other end of the basement. 
My question is do you think pushing 78 degree air down will make any difference downstairs and stealing that heat from upstairs will that make the perimeter rooms upstairs cool. The upstairs is about 2400 sq ft and downstairs part I am trying to heat is about 800 sq ft insulated finished basement. 

I want some other opinions before I undertake this project. I know I can put a pellet stove down there but then I am just having to buy fuel again. Since I have extra heat upstairs I would like to see if I can somehow harness that. 

Not sure what pics to include. The distance of the run would be max 15 ft downstairs.

Thanks in Advance


----------



## Martin Strand III (Sep 25, 2009)

Simply put:  Don't challenge Mother Nature.

The facts:
1.  Warm air rises.
2.  Wood stoves are designed to be "local area" heaters.
3.  Forcing warm air down costs extra money (electric).
4.  Adding supplemental heat (radiant, furnace HVAC, electric, pellet stove) to an unheated area costs money.
5.  Heat decreases as an inverse square with distance.

Summary:  Get real.

Aye,
Marty


----------



## Todd (Sep 25, 2009)

Before you run a bunch of duct work you should install a box fan at the top of your stairwell and try pushing the warm air down into the basement. Same principle as your duct work and it will let you know if it will work or not. Most likely it won't work. What about a small wood stove in the basement?


----------



## begreen (Sep 25, 2009)

I'm with Marty on this one. Why fight nature? It's a bad plan.


----------



## Lumber-Jack (Sep 25, 2009)

I don't think you'll ever get the downstairs as warm as the upstairs, but if done properly it certainly will work to some degree.
I don't buy that stuff about heat rising, your fighting nature stuff. I have seen many buildings with furnaces installed in ceilings, and they are taking the warm air they create and forcing it through a series of ducts, down to heat the building space below. Works just fine.
With what you are wanting to do, of course you are going to lose a little heat as the air travels through the ducts, and of course the area you are stealing the heat from will be cooler, but that all makes sense, if you are trying to heat more area you are going to have to create more heat. And yes it will cost you a bit of electricity to run the furnace fan, but most modern furnaces have a circulate mode that funs the blower at low (very efficient) rate. I run mine continuously, I think it cost less than $5 a month. I run it continuously for a few different reasons; 1: It helps move the heat from my wood stove around the house. 2: I like that my furnace cleans and filters the air in the house (I use high quality filters and probably spend more on filters than I do on electricity to circulate the air) . 3; even if I'm not heating or running the air conditioner by circulating the air the temperature in all the rooms is more balanced, no hot or cold spots.
Unfortunately it is just not feasible in my case to run a cold air return in or near the ceiling of the room I have my wood heater in (if I could I would), so I have one small fan that blows the air from that room into the adjoining hallway were the cold air return is.  I heat our two story, 1500 sq. ft. house exclusively with our wood stove in the winter.


----------



## Bigg_Redd (Sep 25, 2009)

Moving heat downstairs?  Ain't happening.


----------



## Slow1 (Sep 25, 2009)

I would expect that you would get better results running your fan the other way - make it a cold air pump and move the cold air up from the basement and then let the house air that is warmer find its way down to replace it.  Generally speaking it is much easier to move cold air around than warm.  Get a nice strong fan and tight ducts and push it toward the stove.  You also won't lose any heat in the ducts this way either.  Not sure if you have enough heat in total to warm the whole house but this approach is more likely to help.

As to using the HVAC in the attic to heat example - keep in mind that these systems ALL have return vents that are sucking cold air into the system to heat up.  Return vents are just as (if not more) important than the supply registers in any forced air system.


----------



## Hurricane (Sep 25, 2009)

Well thanks for the morning wake up. 
I had a feeling I would be wasting my time that is why I asked. I do have heat down there but it is connected to my upstairs thermostat. I only have one zone forced air heat, and when the stove is going the heat never runs  . 
On to plan B 
  I do not have plan B yet I am using an electric space heater but when it gets real cold that puppy will not work and will cost me a fortune.


----------



## daleeper (Sep 25, 2009)

Hurricane said:
			
		

> Well thanks for the morning wake up.
> I had a feeling I would be wasting my time that is why I asked. I do have heat down there but it is connected to my upstairs thermostat. I only have one zone forced air heat, and when the stove is going the heat never runs  .
> On to plan B
> I do not have plan B yet I am using an electric space heater but when it gets real cold that puppy will not work and will cost me a fortune.



If you are using the insert upstairs 24/7 through winter, maybe you could move or add the forced air thermostat downstairs and close off the upstairs vents.  Check with your heating/cooling guy to see if your system could handle that, I know there are problems shutting that much air off the system as you need a certain amount of air vent outlet and return air volume.  

Heating a basement can be tough, that concrete takes a while to warm up if it is not insulated.  I have insulated walls, but the floor is not, and it takes 3-4 good solid burn days with the wood stove downstairs for it to warm up good enough that my feet don't freeze.


----------



## spirilis (Sep 25, 2009)

I wonder if you could use a standalone Heat Pump unit down there but with the outside air source pointing to ducts upstairs near the insert?  That way the heat pump sources hot air from upstairs and uses it to warm the air down there.  Expensive though, but maybe not relative to the cost of other options...


----------

