trying to get warm

[bizee]

I have a new house, this is my first winter.

The kitchen and family room are a great room concept with vaulted ceilings. There is a ceiling fan, on the edge of the family room part. There is a gas fireplace with fan There are two air ducts close to the outer wall.

I could live with the fireplace going with the fan, BUT, the deflector for it is at the top of the fireplace unit, and it deflects the air down. I'm thinking if it came straight out, I'd get better heat towards me in the chair.? Is there such an item I can get?

Going to get some deflectors tomorrow for the two ceiling vents. The vents push it lengthwise along the outer wall, not towards where I'm sitting or toward the kitchen.

The house can get quite toasty in the bedrooms. Already closed the vents the bathrooms and unused dining room. Its gas forced air. I came from a smaller house with no vault, using heatpump.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Can you aim any of these things toward the floor? That seems to work best in my house. Heat rises, so it'll reach your body. And, your feet are one of your most sensitive receptors for temperature. Get the floor warm, and your mind takes care of the rest.

[Pete C.]

Be careful closing any vents in bathrooms, there are plenty of water lines in there and some could be in exterior walls where they could freeze if they aren't getting enough heat coming through the wall from the room. The difference between 65 and 70 in the bathroom could make the difference between 30 and 35 in the wall cavity.

Pete C.

[Lawrence]

Most fireplaces are actually a heat loss rather than a heat gain. Few designs function well as a heater. For one thing, the combustion air required for the fire has to come from somehwere, usually cold air from outside has to come in somehow. Also, the flue is often uninsulated causing a cold spot when the fireplace is not in use. All that seperates you from the outside is the flue and the damper inside the flue. So if there is no fire you have to wait until the fire is out completely to close the damper. So it is easy to forget and leave the damper open causing a huge heat loss. So, most fireplaces are there just to please you and are not necessarily intended as a heat source. If you are lucky enough to have a fireplace that is a good heat source you still are under obligation to keep it stoked almost all the time. If you don't then you have to close the damper as promptly as possible.

If your concern is for your own comfort you could try some warm slippers and a sweater. A space heater might work well for the area where you hang out. When sitting you can use a foot warmer. It plugs into the wall and can be googled.

[Harry K]

I am sure you already know this but I will point it out anyhow. You have two major design flaws.

1. Vaulted ceilings. It will always be 'toasty warm' up there. Heat rises There is very little you can do about that. Fans, etc will help but at the cost of causing drafts which are a detriment.
2. Trying to supplement heat with a firplace. Get an insert and you can at least help the situation. A fireplace is only good for 'mood' and getting rid of fuel.

Am I against vaulted ceilings? Definitely if you are interested in reasonable heating coasts in a cold climate.

Harry K

[German Jerry]

Harry, I hear what you are saying Harry. I tried suplimenting heat with my wood burning fireplace two years ago and I actually made my heating bill go up. I read about the futility of heating with a fireplace and i decided to plug my fireplace with a chimney balloon and just dress it up with a candelabra for looks. Then I upgraded the furnace to a power vent and that was when i really experienced savings. Now I spend about 35% less in therms for gas on the coldest months. The fireplace is a nice decorative piece, but that is it.

[Phisherman]

Run your ceiling fan such that it blows toward the ceiling. Carefully check for any gaps around your fireplace where you can easily get drafts. Caulking/weather stripping around doors and windows helps a lot and this is often neglected. There are settees that have large curved backs that direct the heat (and hold it) to the occupants. These were popular in the pioneer days when the fireplace provided all the house heat.

[krw]

Not a fireplace, but we have a wood stove with a "glass" front in the living room (at the center of the house). The house is a cape with a vaulted ceiling in the living room and family room. The two bedrooms upstairs have doors directly off the living room. They get quite toasty when I light the wood stove. In fact too warm. I really can't light the wood stove unless it is below zero. Even when it's -20F the boiler won't come on, except to heat water.

The wood stove throws out a *lot* of heat and is a nice decorative piece.