First post, I'm new to heating with wood but have always wanted to. We are in the process of adding a fireplace to our 1800 sq ft, 2 story, house in central IL. We have been planning on installing an Osburn Horizon based on using this unit at a vacation rental last winter but we don't want it to overheat the main room that it will be installed in. The fireplace will be used with the intention to provide primary heat while it is running in conjunction with fans from the central unit to help move the heat.
We are planning to install it on the first floor. In our living room with an adjacent open concept kitchen, both areas combined are 530 sq. ft. Total first floor area is 900 sq. ft. The house is built with a circular floor plan with large open hallways (36"-42" wide) to the rest of the first floor. 9' ceilings. The stairway is located in the middle of the house with a 42" wide opening to the upstairs. The stairway entrance is ~20' from the fireplace location.
A few questions:
1. Is the Horizon too big for this area? It is rated at 95,000 BTU/HR max output but the spec sheet also calls out an upper overall heat output rate of 43,000 BTU/hr. I believe this is a more accurate number for practical performance?
2. We are looking at adding a forced air kit to through the attic to help distribute heat to the 2nd floor and keep the main room temp from overheating. Do you think this is needed based on the general floor layout or will natural convection combined with the central air fans be enough to distribute the heat?
The other options we are looking at is the Osburn Stratford II of the Valcourt Lafyette II which appear to be the same unit with different styling. Other units that we should be looking into?
Either way we will install an OAK and already have seasoned wood ready to go. Look forward to the responses and appreciate the input.
We are planning to install it on the first floor. In our living room with an adjacent open concept kitchen, both areas combined are 530 sq. ft. Total first floor area is 900 sq. ft. The house is built with a circular floor plan with large open hallways (36"-42" wide) to the rest of the first floor. 9' ceilings. The stairway is located in the middle of the house with a 42" wide opening to the upstairs. The stairway entrance is ~20' from the fireplace location.
A few questions:
1. Is the Horizon too big for this area? It is rated at 95,000 BTU/HR max output but the spec sheet also calls out an upper overall heat output rate of 43,000 BTU/hr. I believe this is a more accurate number for practical performance?
2. We are looking at adding a forced air kit to through the attic to help distribute heat to the 2nd floor and keep the main room temp from overheating. Do you think this is needed based on the general floor layout or will natural convection combined with the central air fans be enough to distribute the heat?
The other options we are looking at is the Osburn Stratford II of the Valcourt Lafyette II which appear to be the same unit with different styling. Other units that we should be looking into?
Either way we will install an OAK and already have seasoned wood ready to go. Look forward to the responses and appreciate the input.
