Booster Fan

We have problems keeping the great room warm. It's a big room with a vaulted ceiling, and it is an addition. The people who built the addition jury-rigged the heating vents by taking one vent from the living room and re-routing it through the basement, splitting it into two ducts, and then installing them into the great room.

It didn't work very well.

We aren't ready to re-do the duct work in the basement, which is what should happen.

We use the woodstove almost every day in the winter to keep this big room reasonably warm without roasting the bedrooms. Sometimes we have 'red burn' days that they ask people not to burn because the air is so bad. We will usually use the stove anyway because it is the only way to really keep that room warm.

A few months ago Son1 fixed the holes in the duct work, which helped a little, and we also found a booster fan for the vent.

It's pretty noisy so I would never use this in a bedroom, but it works well in the great room. It turns on when warm air starts to go through, and shuts off automatically when the air is cooler. It can be set to work with either the furnace or the air conditioner.

I found some online that replace the heater vent, too, but they were more expensive and I didn't want to spend more money to find out if this would work or not.

We have another register in the room, but since it is under the table I haven't put a booster there. Also, since they are noisy, I'm not sure I would want another one running at the same time.

We're pretty happy with how it brings more warm air into the great room, so I'm glad we bought it. I still like having the woodstove going. To me a fireplace or woodstove is more than a source of heat, it is a source of peace and quiet, a nice place to gather, and it lends a soft and gentle feeling to the room.