Our new house has a fireplace that warms the living room/kitchen combo nicely. Just outside the living room in the hallway is the thermostat for the central heat system. Even when it is set at 70 the other rooms are too cool. Is the fire interfering with the thermostat as it gauges the home's temp?
2007-01-13 14:02:18 · 12 answers · asked by honeygirl0511 2 in Home & Garden ➔ Other - Home & Garden
Fireplaces are notorious for sucking the warm air out of your house and right up the chimney.
If possible install a temporary barrier that you can use to block off the rest of the house while you use the fireplace.
2007-01-13 14:11:08 · answer #1 · answered by Gem 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It could be that the thermostat is reading the fireplace temp. Check to see that the doors to the other rooms are open and the vents are open as well. Check when the fireplace is off for a day or more if the house is just cool when set at 70. You may need to insulate and it could depend on your windows. Are they double pane sealed units and your doors may need weatherstripping. check around when you are not using the fireplace you may have a cold house do to thermal conditions of insulation and you may have to remedy that. Better windows or plastic shirnk wrap during winter. If is is the thermostat you may have to move the location of it so it isn't shutting off if it gets warmed up due to the fireplace.
Good luck with the new house. Hope you are enjoying it.
2007-01-13 14:14:49 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Two things are happening. First is that the fire is interfering with the theromostat by reading the average temperature. Being close to the room with the fire it is getting a certain amount of warmth from the fire.
The second is that all fireplaces draw a huge amount of air up the chimney. That air is drawn in from someplace, usually from around the doors and windows. So, while the fire may warm one room it may actually be cooling others because it is drawing outside air into other rooms.
2007-01-13 14:13:47 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It probably is. We had a fireplace once that had an insert in it. It's a blower that blows the heat out. They are soooooooo nice! You will love it. They are kinda costly. I think at that time, about 15 years ago, they were around 600. But, the difference it makes in the heating is unbelieveable! And so nice to stand by to get warm. You actually have to move away after a bit because you get too hot! Hope this helps. Oh, get one of those covers for over your thermostat.
2007-01-13 14:25:48 · answer #4 · answered by Shari 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Aussie offered you a good solution. Many of the other comments are correct but to circulate the existing warm air to the cooler rooms, simply turn your fan on your thermostat to the on position. The central unit then draws in the warmer air distributing it to the cooler rooms to warm them up, and at the same time it cools down the living area that is too warm. But be forewarned, it will never be the same temp throughout the house.
2007-01-13 16:28:23 · answer #5 · answered by Turnhog 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
two issues.
first, mythbusters did a show on fireplaces. they actually draw heat from the rest of the house, as they need more air to keep burning. that would make the house cooler.
second, i would say yes, having a fire in one room would raise the temp enough that the central heat wouldn't run. the thermostat only turns on the heat if the temp drops below a certain temp. if the fire is keeping the temp ABOVE that temp, the heat will never turn on. the simple solution is turning the heat up higher than you normally would just to get the heat to cut on. make sure you turn it back before going to bed, or you will have heat running all night.
2007-01-13 14:16:24 · answer #6 · answered by forjj 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes, it could. If you can, and want to, you could install a ceiling fan in the livingroom, to help circulate the warm air from the fireplace to other parts of the house. Also, if it is a regular fireplace, as opposed to a wood stove, pellet stove, etc., that also can contribute to the rest of the house not being warmed properly. A regular fireplace heats differently than with a stove insert. And, even with a stove insert, you would probably want a ceiling fan. .
2007-01-13 15:00:08 · answer #7 · answered by SAK 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most likely the thermostat is being affected by its proximity to the living room fireplace. If you have a door that can be closed between the hall and living room I would try leaving it closed when using the fireplace to see if that improves things.
2007-01-13 14:12:47 · answer #8 · answered by Robert H 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The theory I've heard on that is that the radiant heat from the fire is good in that room, but it's drawing warm air from the other rooms and up the chimney. To solve that, some people install glass enclosure inserts in the fireplace, which blow warm air out vents without drawing warm air up the chimney.
2007-01-13 14:12:39 · answer #9 · answered by Bob Little 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Prehaps you need to use fans to distrubite the heat. We had that problem and had celing fans installed in all the rooms. This worked quite well for us good luck.
2007-01-13 17:46:38 · answer #10 · answered by thmsnbrgll 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋