Changing the air

[ScottA]

I don't recall seeing this discussed before. I'm trying to find a good/easy way to do air changes in my little cabin during the winter and summer months. I'd like to bring air in close to the woodstove so it gets heated quickly to avoid cold drafts. The draw of the stove could move the air in winter but in summer a fan of some sort will be needed. It would also need to be baffled in some way to keep sound from leaking in. Has anyone seen a device designed to do this in a small house? I need to change about 1/3 of the air each hour.

[Redoverfarm]

That might be more difficult than it sounds.  There are ways to circulate fresh air with a air ducted system but you would have to be very inventive without one.  As far as the draw of air to the woodstove this would do very little to circulate the air outside of the firebox. A fresh air intake would make the stove more efficent but do a very minimalistic recirculation of the air in the room.  I guess you could install air ducts to draw the outside air in and trap it in a baffled jacket surround the woodstove and then let it redistribute into the room.  But if you are working on a rather small structure the added duct needed might comprimize the sq footage of useable space.

If you are working in an "off grid" enviroment then power of any circulation fan would have to be addressed. If you have power a  duct and baffled jacket might work if you had a thermostat sensor in the jacket to activate a fan once a predetermined temperature was reached. But then you would run out of hot air within a very short period of time due to the size of the baffled jacket. I am not sure whether the natural rise in hot air would be sufficent to draw cold air in as the hot air is depleted.  Some on the board might be able to address this issue or give you alternative suggestions.

[MountainDon]

There are commercially made air/heat exchange units made. Just off hand I do not have a link handy. They are commonly used in upscale new construction in extreme climates. At least 20+ years ago it took an upscale home to be able to spend the bucks. Probably cheaper today, I hope.

[MountainDon]

Here's a start...

http://www.smarthome.com/3033.html

http://www.americanaldes.com/HRVRes.html

http://www.warmair.com/html/air_to_air_exchangers.htm

http://www.kooltronic.com/he.php

[ScottA]

Thanks Don that might be the ticket. I'll research those a bit.

[MountainDon]

For summer I have an alternative device... A few of them strategically placed should do nicely...









Could be used in winter too, along with an extra cord or two of wood.

[Okie_Bob]

Dang MtnDon, that's the neatest thing I've seen in years!!!
Why didn't I think of that?
Okie Bob