What type of heating is this considered?

Rich Kontny_3

Heres a chance for the scorched air guys to show their stuff.We used to run across a lot of gravity hot air systems that relied on convection to both supply and return the heated air. When properly done these systems worked fine as the living areas were usually on the first floor closest to the furnace. The upper floors normally were just for sleeping so they kept them much cooler.

Many of the original furnaces were solid fuel, wood or coal with constant fire regulated by a chain type dial that open or closed a damper.These furnaces were built like tanks and lasted a very long time.

They were also nicknamed the "octupus furnace" as the supply plenum was round with numerous smaller round ducts taken off (tentacles)


Rich

Joe_53

What type of heating is this considered to be?

Getting ready to list a home for sale and need help to identify the type of heated or non heated space to a second floor.

There is a floor register for the second floor which does not seem to be ducted to the main heating unit. The first floor is heated with central heat through ducts to the Heat/Air unit. The second floor seems to be able to receive ["passive ?"] heat by way of heated air on the first floor which rises to the first floor ceiling register/opening that is connected to the second floor register which can be opened or closed. So it seems the only heat available is heat that travels from the first floor to the second floor by this method. There is another register, a wall register, on the second floor that seems to act as a return and draws air into it from the second floor.

My questions are:
1) Is this second floor considered to be "heated space" for selling purposes and taxiable square footage?
2) Is this passive heat? If not, what would it be called?
3) Would this second floor be considered to be non-heated space?

Your help with my questions are much appreciated. Thank you.

Steamhead (in transit)

Originally

there was a "pipeless furnace" with a large grille in a main room, which disgorged all its heat there. Some heat would rise thru those registers to the upper floor. This was done on the cheap, obviously.

So, technically it's heated space, but not heated well.

In many cases, these pipeless furnasties were replaced by steam or hot-water systems.

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Mike T., Swampeast MO

Technically Heated

I grew up with a similar adaptation of a pipeless system and the upstairs lav pipes would only freeze up on severe nights with downstairs set back to 55F or so. Electric blanket, radiant electric in the bath and quick morning shower.

With a suitable floorplan the system worked quite well with the original furnaces as they produced very warm air that rose rapidly through the house.

When converting to forced air it was possible to run supplies only to the ground floor as long as you ran a dedicated return to the upper floor. The air from the forced furnaces isn't nearly as warm and you have to "suck" the air through the register holes in the ceiling. Provided the sleeping rooms are upstairs and the occupants prefer to sleep cool, the system can be quite comfortable.

Will NOT for work for A/C in warm climates! Window shakers or mini-split required!!!!

Leo_11

In the 50's

When I was young in the 50's my great grandmother had a home from the early 40's that had a kerosene parlor stove and kitchen stove. The two stoves heated the first floor with heat registers feeding the two upstairs bedrooms. You had to bring a tank outside everyday to fill it with kerosene then bring it back in, turn it upside down and put it in a receptical behind the stove. Then you flooded the stove, lit it, let it burn down and adjusted the flame from there.

Leo

Plumdog_2

Gravity

And some of the gravity systems had the warm (hot) register(s) centrally located, with the returns around the outside walls where cold draft would fall back thru ducts to the furnace. A forced-air replacement would reverse the flow using the same ducts. The upper level could have "transfer" grilles thru the floor into the level below; and I think technically it would qaulify as heated space. Be careful with the asbestos.

mtfallsmikey

Mostly in my area

These were coal fired, some with stokers. Converted many of these to oil. My back would recoil at the thought of pulling one of those out of a basement again!