Forced Air Heating System In 2 Story House

Forced Air Heating System in 2 Story House ENERGY Wood Burners (65) 17-2-32 I installed a forced air heating system in my old 2-story farm house by putting a free-standing wood stove in a room over an attached garage. The stove heats the entire 2,500 sq. ft. house. The house has electric heat and I got a $350 bill one month so I decided to make a change. The room over the garage had a freestanding firebrick lined stove that would nearly roast you out of the room, yet I couldn't get the excess heat into the rest of the house. There was no existing ductwork because tof the electric heat. To solve the problem I built a vertical 15-in. sq. air chute that starts about 3 in. from the ceiling near the wall that's opposite the stove and closest to the main part of the house. The air chute runs down through the floor and ductwork runs across the house to the living room. A squirrel cage fan at the bottom of the air chute sucks air down out of the room over the garage and blows it into the house. I spent $300 to $400 for my forced air heating system. A conventional furnace and ductwork would have cost $3,000 to $5,000. The only disadvantage is that Iits a bit inconvenient to carry wood from outside up the stairway each day. I get lots of exercise as I burn 12 or 13 cords each year. (Eric Wallis, Rt. 2, Box 945, Rudyard, Mich. 49780 ph 906 478-7451)

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