Hi we are getting a fireplace installed and have a DVS system I was thinking of closing the DVS outlets in winter while fireplace was being used to help prevent heat loss. what does everyone else do?
hazelnut2,
Mar 21, 11:19am
Fireplace, or log burner?
Either will let air into your living area, log burner around flue exit through ceiling, fireplace up and down the chimney.
I would close the vents and if possible, unplug the system so it can't be activated accidentally.
And I would look at getting a seperate heat-transfer system to your bedrooms. It won't actually make the rooms hot, but it sure keeps the chill off when the air circulates around. Doors must be open of course.
tweake,
Mar 21, 12:42pm
do not do anything. there is no need to and closing off vents etc will cause issues.
its a ventilation system, you must have ventilation. its a good thing even if it removes a bit of heat.
tweake,
Mar 21, 12:47pm
its comments like these which is why NZ has moldy homes. total failure to understand the basics of houses.
heat transfer systems need an air return. relying on doors being open is stupid and could get you killed. a basic air return can be simply shortening the door a bit to let the air flow under it.
hazelnut2,
Mar 21, 8:00pm
I do understand the basics of house ventilation = on warm days open the windows to let the heat out and on cold days close them and pull the curtains to keep the heat in. Get the house insulated and draught proofed to keep out the cold damp air which promotes mould growth on any dust lying around, which means that houses actually should be CLEANED regularly (which no one ever seems to mention as an important factor in mould growth). Air bathrooms after every shower to dry them, dry washing outside. Use the ventilation fan in the kitchen. Keep the internal doors open in the house to let the air circulate and even out the temperatures and to let that warm air from the fireplace 'warm' the rest of the house once it's been blown to the furthest room and can get back to the fireplace with no resistance by having to squeeze under a shortened door. (forcing air to move cools it down)
sorry, but no. you have mentioned almost everything else except ventilation.
bryshaw,
Mar 22, 6:43pm
Our DVS was off for one evening and the next morning the windows were all fogged up. We have a log burner and just maybe turn the DVS down a bit to keep cold air to a minimum.
annie17111,
Mar 22, 7:07pm
that happened to us after we got the heat transfer kit installed. Woke up to the smoke alarm going and house full of smoke. The people that installed our fireplace put a vent in behind the fireplace on the floor and hasn't happened since.
tweake,
Mar 22, 8:01pm
they shouldn't need to as they reduce the air flow automatically. also the fan should always be running. if its off, hot air will flow back up ventilation system pipes to the outside and drag damp cold air in at the level your normally at.
edit: i like that you said "keep cold air to a minimum". you still need ventilation even if its freezing cold.
tweake,
Mar 22, 8:11pm
while i don't know exactly what your setup is, i'm guessing the vent in the floor is to let outside air in. thats a really terrible bandaid. that means the heat transfer system is pushing the warm air out of the bedrooms to outside the house. then its sucking in cold air to replace that air, which then requires to be heated. thats a complete waste of heat and firewood. if the air is coming up from under the house, that will be very damp air and make the house worse.
heat transfer kits simply require an air return. under the doors is a common one.but jumper ducts or returns ducts is the pro way. the warm air returns back to the fireplace.
wembley1,
Mar 22, 8:46pm
Tweake - a gas or wood fire is consuming air from the room and sending it up the flue as products of combustion. It needs fresh air. It could take it from another room but in the end it needs to come from the outside.
If the combustion process can't get fresh air the flue will not "draw" (pull the flue gas up the flue) and will probably "spill" into the room.
tweake,
Mar 22, 9:15pm
you have missed the point.
the fire takes air from the room which is then replaced by outside air via normal ventilation. otherwise the fire would not work, regardless of the heat transfer setup.
the reason the heat transfer system is causing the issue is because its pulling so much air out of the room its creating a vacuum which is pulling air back down the chimney. when a proper return is used, the heat transfer system simply pushes air around in a loop inside the house and doesn't create a large amount of vacuum. so the fireplace can function normally with its air usage being replaced by normal ventilation air. no external vent required.
this is simply heat transfer installers being lazy and not installing the air return. then its being bandaided by the fireplace installers. i suspect neither understand how its meant to work.
bryshaw,
Mar 22, 9:48pm
We have an older system which turns off if the ceiling heat activates the red light. It has summer and winter settings and if left on winter will bring in any warm air which on a hot day is not good.
annie17111,
Mar 23, 8:08am
heat transfer sucks the heat in from the fireplace and then it blows it out into the bedrooms. Because our fire doesnt burn over night, we have the heat pump on all night during winter. It keeps the whole house warm and our power bills aren't too bad. Not sure how else we could fix it so we don't need the vent in the floor behind the fireplace.
tweake,
Mar 23, 6:25pm
sorry i forgot they will turn off when they get to hot, which is absolutely fine. not turning off when cold is the important part. the summer and winter will be switching between the in ceiling inlet and the outdoor inlet. sounds like you have a good system. but in all honesty i find the ceiling temp is so low in winter that its not really an issue. i had mine accidentally on winter setting during a summers day and the house did not get any hotter than normal. they really don't flow enough air to transport enough heat. heat transfer systems flow a lot more air. i think the newer DVS has an automatic change over which would be nice.
tweake,
Aug 8, 5:44pm
the heat transfer system is meant to have an air return, so you pump air to the bed room and the air in the bedroom is pushed back to the fireplace to get reheated. this is the most efficient way and how they are meant to be installed. typical air return is done be shortening the bedroom and hallway doors, or running extra pipes from bed room back to the lounge. you can see why they didn't bother to do that, make more $$$ by leaving out half the stuff.
the vent in the floor, either have a plastic ground sheet on the dirt or fit a pipe and extend it to the side of the house. you do not ever want to be sucking up the wet air from under the house.
the pro version is to have a fireplace that has a cold air inlet, ie connect the fireplace air inlet directly to that grill/pipe. so the fireplace sucks in air directly from outside rather than house air. that way the fire place is isolated from the house and you will not get smoke coming out of the fireplace when the air flow is reversed. there is other important details but thats for another day.
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