Living room vent

Both lights and vents have prescribed placment based on engineering calculations. The first light appears to be a can which shouldn't matter. If the living room bothers you,I see no reason the vent and/or light couldn't be relocated as long as they remain in proxinity to where needed. You might also consider having vents painted exactly same color as ceiling if the colors aren't close already.

How high it this ceiling? Is the vent going to provide both heating and cooling?

That is a big vent opening (20 x 20?). How big is this room and this the only vent for the area?

My concern is the HVAC contractor wants to install one big vent instead of several smaller ones. The big one is more noticeable and puts all the air in one spot rather than dispersing it in the room. The ceiling seems very high so if this also going to be for heating then most of the warm air will be up at the ceiling.

The framing also looks strange to my eye, but I an not a construction expert. The frame looks like 2 X 8 on 24 inch centers and the spans seem very long. I assume there will be blown insulation in the attic.

Do you know what HVAC equipment you are getting and where it will be installed?

Hi Klem1,
Neither of the lights will be can lights, but hanging fixtures or ceiling fans.

mike_home,
Ceilings are 10 ft tall. We are in Florida. It will be for heating and cooling. HVAC is in the attic in the garage. I don't what brand but we were able to upgrade to SEER 15. Yes, there will be blown insulation in the attic.

I think you are correct on the vent size, and the room is 18 x 22 for family room, 16 x 13 for breakfast nook, and 14 x 18 living room. They all appear to only have one large vent in the center of each room.

Should I request several smaller vents or just ask to have the large vent moved closer to the perimeter of each room?

I think you would be more comfortable and it would look nicer if you had smaller vents at the perimeters of the room. Anyone sitting under that big vent if going to feel a blast of cold air every time the AC starts up. I have never lived in a house with this type of set up, but I have worked in offices where my desk was directly below an HVAC vent. It was often uncomfortable.

Find out the details of the AC equipment. Get the brand, model numbers of each piece. I hate to say this, but builders know very little when it comes to HVAC. They budget the least amount of money and will sub contract the job to the lowest bidder. Get the information before it is too late to make any changes.

did you have any load calcs, duct sizing or duct design prior to install?
size of room determines cfm (cubic feet per minute) of air needed, then cfm can be delivered by ducts sized on the amount of air they move.

real pita to do last minute.

best of luck.

Energy_rater_la,
We didn't get any of that information. I assume it was done but that information wasn't passed on. Would it still be worthwhile to request it now?

Okay, heard back from builder. It is the HVAC engineer who designs everything and the builder doesn't have much input or knowledge of what or why anything is done.
The building manager agrees that supply vents next to light fixtures is unacceptable and has requested the HVAC super do a walk-through of the house. We have requested to be there when he does it.

I did find some HVAC engineering guides online that suggested air diffusers should be near perimeter walls, and that that diffusers placed directly over occupancy areas will cause uncomfortable air drafts, just as mike_home said.

So hopefully we have a leg to stand on, so to speak. Any other advice when/if we meet with the HVAC super?

Also, they placed the thermostat in the hallway. Intuitively this seems like a bad placement. Isn't it supposed to be in a main living area?

Update:
Builder did not arrange a meeting with the HVAC super. However they did pass on our concerns, and some changes were made today. Two smaller vents were installed in the living room several feet away on either side of the light fixture instead of the one large central one. So we are happy with that.
The family room is now also two smaller vents, but they are much closer still to the center of the room and will right right above where each couch will be in that room. This room is 18 x 22, with a sliding glass door behind where the person taking the picture is standing. There is also a 12 ft. wide opening to the kitchen/ breakfast nook behind and to the right of the photographer.
The unit is a Lennox 14HPX-048-230-18. Will be engineered with air handler to be a 15 SEER. I asked about the air handler model and I am still waiting to hear back. I know this system gets bad reviews but we just don't have the budget to do anything else right now, and builder, not being custom, won't let us shop around.

I am still concerned about this family room. Should I request another change, moving each of the two air diffusers even further back towards each perimeter? Should there be a third one anywhere, or is the two enough?

ducts are designed to move specific amounts (cfm's/cubic feet per minute) of air.
the number/size of ducts are determined by the heating/cooling
needs of the room. size of room, orientation..window type etc.
it could be one duct moving xx amount of air or two ducts
moving x amount of air apiece.

this is how it is supposed to be done...long before the first duct
is run...there is a design & sizing for ductwork, just as there is
a load calc for the size of the hvac system..not just some rule of
thumb sizing that leaves you with no dehumidification due to
oversizing of system.

these things are in design stage, not once system is installed
& ducts are in place.

maybe code has some rules in place that require load calcs
& duct design/sizing in your area?
left on their own most hvac companies do no calcs, no loads
or design or sizing. esp in new construction when hvac is often
the lowest bid to the contractor.

best of luck.