I have a single-story 1400 sq/ft house (4 bedroom). Here's a VERY rough sketch of the layout:
The house has blown-in insulation on the exterior walls but no insulation on the interior walls. Windows are single-pane aluminum (we're getting ready to systematically replace these this year).
At the current time, we don't have any heating (the fireplace that's there is a standard masonry fireplace but we haven't used it (there's a gas line hookup nearby but it's not connected).
At this point, we're considering a couple options:
1) Get a gas-powered fireplace insert
2) Get central heating.
The fireplace salesman naturally said that his solution is the best (citing something about fireplace inserts offering better energy/heat transference efficiency than central heating).
I like the idea of a thermostat-controlled fireplace insert but I'm skeptical that something like this could heat an entire house.
So my questions are:
1) Is it remotely possible for a fireplace insert to heat an entire house? Especially considering the rough dimensions of my house?
2) Are Fireplaces truly more heat/energy efficient?
Best Answer
There is no way that a simple fireplace insert can heat a house the same way that a central air system that pipes the heated air into each room.
It is possible to have a fireplace built that has a heat exchanger built into it that feeds into an air circulation system such that the warmed air is moved around to other parts of the house. However I doubt that your existing fireplace has this heat exchanger system built into it...then yet the ducting to an air curculation system into the rest of the house.
I'm glad to see that you seem to have it in mind that the advice that you get from the fireplace salesman will always be biased toward what he is trying to sell you!!