Another Success Story
Since the outside temperatures finally got into the high 30's and low 40's at night last week, I began using the wood stove in the basement in conjunction with the refrigerator-fan recirculating system to heat the house. It's working like a charm so far. Indeed, the CFO even cracked the windows for a while one day last weekend. Now, if the CFO is warm, folks, the house is warm.
With the circulation system switched on and the stove going full tilt, the air coming from the basement is typically in the range of 85 to 90°F. When the air temperature drops below 80°F, I know it's time for more wood. When it gets below 75°F, I know I'll probably have to restart the fire in the stove.
While the thing works well, it's like driving a battleship: nothing happens quickly. It takes a number of hours to change the wall temperature a single degree. But, hey, there are a lot of walls, floors and ceilings. Similarly, the upstairs air temperature takes an hour, or so, to increase a degree or two. Accordingly, the system requires a bit more attention than just setting a thermostat and walking away. It's easy to overshoot or undershoot the desired temperature and one needs to tend the wood stove. On the other hand, I've yet to turn on the electrical heat pump and my power consumption for heating the house still remains at zero kilowatt-hours at a cost of zero dollars for the season!
With the circulation system switched on and the stove going full tilt, the air coming from the basement is typically in the range of 85 to 90°F. When the air temperature drops below 80°F, I know it's time for more wood. When it gets below 75°F, I know I'll probably have to restart the fire in the stove.
While the thing works well, it's like driving a battleship: nothing happens quickly. It takes a number of hours to change the wall temperature a single degree. But, hey, there are a lot of walls, floors and ceilings. Similarly, the upstairs air temperature takes an hour, or so, to increase a degree or two. Accordingly, the system requires a bit more attention than just setting a thermostat and walking away. It's easy to overshoot or undershoot the desired temperature and one needs to tend the wood stove. On the other hand, I've yet to turn on the electrical heat pump and my power consumption for heating the house still remains at zero kilowatt-hours at a cost of zero dollars for the season!
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