Browse Forums Heating, Cooling & Insulation 1 Feb 21, 2015 8:42 am Hi all, I was wondering if it was possible to circulate heat from combustion fireplace through the ducted air con? Our combustion heater warns up our lounge very nicely, but the rest f the house remains relatively cold. Is this possible? Cheers, Robbie Re: Circulating heat from combustion fireplace 2Feb 21, 2015 10:34 am Heat recovery systems are very popular abroad The system would need to be designed for safety and efficiency, hard to do in old homes, as most aircon systems are stand alone.If you are considering building a new home then yes it is worth combining Heat/Cooling recovery with Natural displacement ventilation and mechanical systems, ie,lots of issues for one your ducting will need to change,etc,etc Design Data and Engineering For Thermal Ground Recovery System https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/1132 ... 8411066977 Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Circulating heat from combustion fireplace 4Feb 21, 2015 1:17 pm robbie_p Ah ok makes sense. Any other suggestions to making better use of the heat produced by combustion fire place? I looked at that last winter, in my cottage I had a small wood heater and it was always cold (lots of glass did not help but also the house had no insulation in ceilings and walls) I insulated ceilings and bought new Quadra Fire wood heater (free standing) Those two things changed everything. All I do now is leave bedroom doors open and the heat will find its way. The heater is a knockout and super efficient. http://i1321.photobucket.com/albums/u559/brankom10/DSC_8912_zps2ee5b4bc.jpg I still have insulation work to do but it will be done before this winter Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Circulating heat from combustion fireplace 7Feb 21, 2015 1:39 pm They sure do but they have to be decent thermal curtains and an enclosed pelmet with them is essential. http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc455/stewiesno1/Energy_efficient_home_diagram_showing_effect_of_curtains_and_pelmets_on_warm_air_zpsd40aa5bb.jpg As an aside to your original question, I know a client of mine who faced the same problem as you in his holiday house so he installed an inline fan in his lounge room wall then ducting in the ceilings that terminated in the central hallway opposite the three bedroom doors. Cheap and worked a treat. Stewie Re: Circulating heat from combustion fireplace 8Feb 21, 2015 1:53 pm robbie_p Ah ok makes sense. Any other suggestions to making better use of the heat produced by combustion fire place? Sure as to whether they are Ok for your situations, thats always debatable (so turn to data and optimize a number of solutions). Its usually not the single primary effects (locate heat source in room) but coupled secondary (hot air rises to prevent isotherm layings you need to mix and circulate air..fans..windows) and teritary effects (air flow, heat Storage and transfer) and so on. Many things work on their own but it's the coupled effects you need to understand/simulate. Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Circulating heat from combustion fireplace 9Feb 21, 2015 11:24 pm My before my house was stripped down for renovations and an extension, I was doing the opposite where I was using the fan in the ducted heater as a transfer fan. As the return air was located in the hallway, I used a pedestal fan standing in the doorway of the loungeroom directing conditioned air to the return air. It worked reasonably well for an old house which was largely uninsulated and able to drop the temps in the rooms with a duct outlet by an average of 2 degrees. Now no reason why you couldn't do the same thing with the warm air in the loungeroom though you'll have to somehow direct it to the ducted air con's return air and just run the fan only. hth Re: Circulating heat from combustion fireplace 12Feb 22, 2015 8:26 am Bels My before my house was stripped down for renovations and an extension, I was doing the opposite where I was using the fan in the ducted heater as a transfer fan. As the return air was located in the hallway, I used a pedestal fan standing in the doorway of the loungeroom directing conditioned air to the return air. It worked reasonably well for an old house which was largely uninsulated and able to drop the temps in the rooms with a duct outlet by an average of 2 degrees. Now no reason why you couldn't do the same thing with the warm air in the loungeroom though you'll have to somehow direct it to the ducted air con's return air and just run the fan only. hth This is just what I considered, buying electric in-line fan with some ducting and three way splitter, positioning intake in ceiling somewhere in lounge and ducting to bedrooms then splitting 3 ways for outlet in each each bedroom. The other problem is too much glass, great except in winter so I need to find a way to control heat loss, Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Circulating heat from combustion fireplace 13Feb 22, 2015 12:44 pm I have 3 vents in my house.. Lounge, dinning and passageway, but they all push air out, not pull in. Any ideas? Could the return air vents be the extractor fans in the bathrooms and laundry? Re: Circulating heat from combustion fireplace 14Feb 22, 2015 12:46 pm your return air grill should be in passage and somewhere close to floor (rectangular or square, larger than ceiling outlets) Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Circulating heat from combustion fireplace 16Feb 24, 2015 10:09 pm There are several ways you could go about it. For fire safety and air quality you would need to use heat exchange (otherwise known as heat recovery or energy recovery). You could use an air to air heat exchanger or a water to air heat exchanger in a ducted air system, or you could use water to air with wall mounted radiators. Europe, UK, USA have been doing this for centuries more or less. As I've worked as a Building Services engineer in Qld all my career where we basically don't have winter, I'm not all that knowledgeable on the details. Building Services Engineer Renovating our 1960's modernist home in Brisbane https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=82091 Re: Circulating heat from combustion fireplace 17Feb 25, 2015 12:39 am building-expert This is just what I considered, buying electric in-line fan with some ducting and three way splitter, positioning intake in ceiling somewhere in lounge and ducting to bedrooms then splitting 3 ways for outlet in each each bedroom. The other problem is too much glass, great except in winter so I need to find a way to control heat loss, There's transfer fan kits available with everything you need. With regards to heat loss, either roller shutters or some sort of thick blind/curtain would help. 1960sModernistHome There are several ways you could go about it. For fire safety and air quality you would need to use heat exchange (otherwise known as heat recovery or energy recovery). You could use an air to air heat exchanger or a water to air heat exchanger in a ducted air system, or you could use water to air with wall mounted radiators. Europe, UK, USA have been doing this for centuries more or less. As I've worked as a Building Services engineer in Qld all my career where we basically don't have winter, I'm not all that knowledgeable on the details. I'm pretty sure the OP isn't planning on using the flue air for heating, rather he's trying to draw the heated conditioned air out of the loungeroom into other rooms. Re: Circulating heat from combustion fireplace 18Feb 25, 2015 6:50 am Yeah well he could try just running the ducted air con with fan only as suggested and see how that goes. If the return air is near the lounge room it should do at least something. The other option is (assuming the AC is reverse cycle) to use the AC for heating and forget about the combustion heater altogether. Building Services Engineer Renovating our 1960's modernist home in Brisbane https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=82091 Re: Circulating heat from combustion fireplace 19Feb 25, 2015 11:32 pm That is an option though the cost of running the AC in reverse cycle is surely going to surpass the cost of scavenging any excess heat from the living area and circulating it to other parts of the house. Re: Circulating heat from combustion fireplace 20Feb 26, 2015 11:40 am Depends how much firewood costs!! Building Services Engineer Renovating our 1960's modernist home in Brisbane https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=82091 Hi all, My first post, we are building a house and can’t decide the layout of the lounge room. We have a large N/W facing window and are wanting to have a wood slow… 0 11125 No the fireplace doesn’t work. It’s been enclosed. I’m not sure what was removed, as it was done quite some time ago - well before what I can see with photos online… 2 9113 I would probably render it and then paint it as per your other advice, or gyrpock over the top. 1 924 |