BKVP
Minister of Fire
Begreen. I was just with over 100 regulators at a conference in Denver. Your observation about having to open a window is valid for a few reasons. Perhaps the most important to recognize is opening windows while you wood stove is burning can increase PM within the home, which is not healthy. I agree with you that for your application the heat pump is ideal. We prefer to run our stove on days when the peak temp is not expected to exceed 60F.It really depends on the heat loss of the house. If a house only needs 10K BTUs/hr when it is 40º outside, then it is either small or quite well insulated. I too burn when it's 40º-45º outside. That is our 12 hr burn cycle time. I suspect that a cat stove would be approximately equivalent, again due to the heat loss of this old house. However, on a day like today when it is 45º at 6 am, but sunny and going up to 65º by 1 pm or so, I don't want to start a fire just to open the windows later on due to too much heat. Do you use the heat pump the same way? Maybe not. For us, heating with electrons is cheaper and much cleaner, especially in milder weather.
I'll give you a funny anecdote. We now have a dealer in Florida. They are in the northern portion and have a Princess 32 as their burn model. When I called to follow up with them about selling our products, they loved the PE32. I looked online at their weather and it was 55F. They were burning on low all week because to them 55-65 is COLD! Personal preference and at times cost will be part of the equation.
BKVP