Optima Installation and Operation Manual
9
2.2
Zone Heating and How to Make it Work for You
Your new Optima wood stove is a space heater, which means it is intended to heat the area it is
installed in, as well as spaces that connect to that area, although to a lower temperature. This is
called zone heating and it is an increasingly popular way to heat homes or spaces within homes.
Zone heating can be used to supplement another heating system by heating a particular space within
a home, such as a basement family room or an addition that lacks another heat source.
Houses of moderate size and relatively new construction can be heated with a properly sized and
located wood stove. Whole house zone heating works best when the stove is located in the part of
the house where the family spends most of its time. This is normally the main living area where the
kitchen, dining and living rooms are located. By locating the stove in this area, you will get the
maximum benefit of the heat it produces and will achieve the highest possible heating efficiency and
comfort. The space where you spend most of your time will be warmest, while bedrooms and
basement (if there is one) will stay cooler. In this way, you will burn less wood than with other forms of
heating.
Although the stove may be able to heat the main living areas of your house to an adequate
temperature, we strongly recommend that you also have a conventional oil, gas or electric heating
system to provide back up heating.
Your success with zone heating will depend on several factors, including the correct sizing and
location of the stove, the size, layout and age of your home and your climate zone. Three-season
vacation homes can usually be heated with smaller stoves than houses that are heated all winter.
