Air circulation to second floor. Which way would you move the air?

[davidmsem]

I live in a two-story colonial and want to use the two air-conditioning ducts you can see in the ceiling of this room to move air to the second floor which tends to be much cooler. I have purchased a very quiet and efficient German-made in-line fan that I can place in the attic and either drop cold air from the second floor to this room or pull the hot here up to the second floor , using the ducts you see and the large air conditioning inlet in the second floor .

Which direction would you move the air?

 

[Grizzerbear]

I would pull hot air up to second floor. As long as your fire is burning you have a constant source of heat on first floor. In theory it should replace the heat that was sent to second story with the heat that is being emitted from stove.

 

[davidmsem]

I would pull hot air up to second floor. As long as your fire is burning you have a constant source of heat on first floor. In theory it should replace the heat that was sent to second story with the heat that is being emitted from stove.

I think if I draw air from the room containing the fireplace insert, when starting fires, or starting fires going and I will get smoke into the room, as this little powerful fan will draw through the insert when the insert is not running hot .

 

[Rickb]

I did the same thing with a inline ductfan. I blow cold air from upstairs to the basement where the stove is. Seems to work pretty well.

 

[Grizzerbear]

think if I draw air from the room containing the fireplace insert, when starting fires, or starting fires going and I will get smoke into the room, as this little powerful fan will draw through the insert when the insert is not running hot

I assumed u will be putting fan on a dedicated switch....that way you could turn it off when not needed or in use.

 

[begreen]

The two ceiling grilles are supply ducts. They push cold air into the room. I would not use them for an attempt to reverse the flow. If the AC system has a fan mode you could try running it in fan-only mode. That will pull cooler air from upstairs and push it into the warmer stove room while warm air would be pulled upstairs via the return duct. How well this works will depend on how well insulated the AC system and ducts are.

 

[davidmsem]

I assumed u will be putting fan on a dedicated switch....that way you could turn it off when not needed or in use.

Yes, I put the fan on a dedicated circuit in the upstairs laundry room. I used the manufactures recommended variable speed switch so I can control the fan motor without having to go into the attic .

 

[davidmsem]

The two ceiling grilles are supply ducts. They push cold air into the room. I would not use them for an attempt to reverse the flow. If the AC system has a fan mode you could try running it in fan-only mode. That will pull cooler air from upstairs and push it into the warmer stove room while warm air would be pulled upstairs via the return duct. How well this works will depend on how well insulated the AC system and ducts are.

I think there would be too much heat loss using the whole AC system that is in the attic, so I opted for a short run of insulated flexible pipe and the in-line fan. I opted to drop the air from the upstairs to the downstairs , to avoid the situation where I draw air up through the fireplace insert when it is not drawing hard.

 

[gordonm1]

Hello I'm just breaking in my Regency 2601 this fall. I had an older insert for many years and I found value in running the central fan. I don't have data or hard numbers on power use while the central fan is on low but that and heat rising has made the insert in the basement help a lot.

I also bought a fan made for wood heating called "entrée air" or something. It is shaped like a quarter pie slice and fits closely in doorways up top usually. I think it measured 18 watts draw and I used it to blow air from the hot room across the basement when I spent time in the basement. This fall I have this fan aimed up the stairway from the hot room and that will be the next experiment.

I did measure the power draw on the new stove fan on high and it was 40 watts or something and that calc'd out pretty cheap compared to my two stage heat pump on high stage.

 

[davidmsem]

Hello I'm just breaking in my Regency 2601 this fall. I had an older insert for many years and I found value in running the central fan. I don't have data or hard numbers on power use while the central fan is on low but that and heat rising has made the insert in the basement help a lot.

I also bought a fan made for wood heating called "entrée air" or something. It is shaped like a quarter pie slice and fits closely in doorways up top usually. I think it measured 18 watts draw and I used it to blow air from the hot room across the basement when I spent time in the basement. This fall I have this fan aimed up the stairway from the hot room and that will be the next experiment.

I did measure the power draw on the new stove fan on high and it was 40 watts or something and that calc'd out pretty cheap compared to my two stage heat pump on high stage.

Is your air handler in the attic or basement? Mine is in the attic, hence very cold up there in the winter.

 

[begreen]

Is your air handler in the attic or basement? Mine is in the attic, hence very cold up there in the winter.

Yes, heat loss in this situation can be great. When the system is trying to circulate 80º air and the heat loss is as much as 10-20º, then the result is not an improvement. Same thing for warm air system with exposed ductwork in a cold basement.

 

[gordonm1]

David my fan is in the basement but the main return ducting is in the attic so I do get heat loss before it gets back to the heater. Using the central fan increases the rate at which all the volume of air in a room is replaced and in my case a benefit is felt and room temps are more even. Sure there is heat loss but you are heating more space and the temps will even out comfortably if you have enough heat. My supply ducting from the central unit is mostly in the basement below the ceiling framing so, even heating of the basement improves supply duct temperatures. The only control I have for the ducting other than closing vents
The main thing for me and wood heat is dodging the $300 power bills for a heat pump with electric back up three months a year. My ci2600 rated 78,000 btu setup is probably undersized for the coldest months until the basement is sealed and insulated better. The exposed daylight basement wall appears to be uninsulated standard concrete block. We've had below zero F and high winds that probably sucked the most heat out in the past.