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Heating & Air Conditioning

Very Cold draft from return air vent

17 years ago

Depending on wind conditions outside, the return air vents in my house have a small draft of cold air coming from them. Based on how cold this draft is, I am almost certain this is air coming in from outside from these vents (there are four of them around the house and all of them seem to have this problem). The draft occurs when the furnace is on but not running. When the furnace runs, these vents are taking in air from the room to the furnace as they should. Is this draft a normal part of supplying fresh air to the rooms or is there a leak in the system somewhere? I moved into this house two years back and its a 10-year old place.

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Comments (5)

bob_brown
17 years ago
Check to insure the ducts are wrapped with insulation. If they leak this is wrong. The wind is causing infliteration into the house probably and not into the duct. The furnace should not be on when not heating. This is ok for AC, but not heat.
mr_havac
17 years ago
Ahhh, if the furnace is on but not running then the furnace is not on,,, it's off. But if it's off and running it's probably not a furnace at all. Horses can be off and running,,, maybe what you feel is the breeze created as the horse is running by. Hmmmmm? :-)
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Are there dampers near the supply plenum on the duct runs to balance airflow to the rooms? From what source are the 3 diffusers fed; from one duct run or more? The 3 diffusers maybe sized correctly when all three are used, otherwise the static drop may be too high. We would only be guessing from here. - udarrell Here is a link that might be useful: Air Side of Air Conditioning
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This is a common problem with all vent holes and fireplaces and it will be solved later this century. In terms of whole-house HVAC, these holes need to be dealt with and they aren't yet. My take on the problem. (I live in a cold climate.) Houses are more and more airtight, which is Step One towards optimal insulation against extreme cold (or heat). Then each vent hole becomes comparatively more of a problem. I think each opening should have two flappers, one at each end of the hole (i.e. outdoors and indoors). A single flapper is extremely leaky when air pressure ("wind") is pushing against it. Two thingies makes for more reasonable air pressure on the second one, less leak. Sounds like basic common sense to me, but no-one has ever integrated it into their product design or "standard" construction process. It's a recurring need in millions of buildings every year and everybody always makes it look like "'golly, we just noticed this." In buildings big and small. So you are not alone. -david
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zeen
Original Author
17 years ago
Thank you for the help Bob. After opening and checking all the intake vents, I found that someone, in their supreme intelligence, had partially bent a steel sheet that acts as a barrier from the outside air into the intake duct. They did this to pass some wiring. Once that was re-sealed, no cold draft and the house stays warm.
zeen
Original Author
17 years ago
Funny, funny mr havac. This furnace is a horse - the way its been running the last two years ( and who knows for how long the previous owner had it like this - what a bozo!).
James T
2 years ago
Hey Zeen, mine is like that cold air blow out from the ac return vents when my thermostat is off mode. It makes my living room and bedroom sp cold. Please help.

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