yooper08
Minister of Fire
The space that I can compare to you guys that use your stoves to heat the whole house 24/7 is my basement where the insert is. Last night at 11 when it was 11 outside, it was down to 68 with the fire down to some coals. Put in 5 splits (hardly full), watched it and damped it down, it was 72 again within about 15 minutes. I'm sure it kept climbing after that (typically peaks between 75-80 depending on all the variables) but went back down at 8:30 this morning and it was 64 inside, 17 out. Was able to start it up from the coals left over.
Meanwhile, upstairs the main living area zone for the NG boiler drops to 65 at 9pm and at midnight it was still 67 with the insert going, but come 6am it pops back up to 69, so its hard to tell since I put a floor on the temp. During the day I have a small floor fan at the bottom of the stairs to aid convection but I shut that off at night. What we've found is the hallway the bedrooms are all connected to stays warm enough to not call the NG boiler if I have the insert going with the stair fan on. Since the wife likes to sleep with the door closed, that makes for a cold bedroom until the hallway cools off enough. That zone is set at 68 24/7 during the heating season.
Meanwhile, upstairs the main living area zone for the NG boiler drops to 65 at 9pm and at midnight it was still 67 with the insert going, but come 6am it pops back up to 69, so its hard to tell since I put a floor on the temp. During the day I have a small floor fan at the bottom of the stairs to aid convection but I shut that off at night. What we've found is the hallway the bedrooms are all connected to stays warm enough to not call the NG boiler if I have the insert going with the stair fan on. Since the wife likes to sleep with the door closed, that makes for a cold bedroom until the hallway cools off enough. That zone is set at 68 24/7 during the heating season.