Venting and Return air distance from each other
Vignesh Kumar
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
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BT
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Can I block/reduce return air vent? Alternatives?
Comments (3)If the return was properly sized, you don't want to reduce it--it will mean less airflow in the LR if nothing else. What's in the wall above the return? Could you open up the wall that you'll be covering and put the return high instead of low? Then you could put a grill at the top of the bookshelf/cabinet, where you won't see it as much anyway....See MoreAir return through vented doors
Comments (1)There's no such thing as too much return air - Nothing should be more restrictive than the fliter and fitting two grilles with two filters is even better than one. If the air handler must struggle to get return air into it, then the efficiency of the whole system would be compromised In your particular instance, I would do everything reasonably possible to remove any restrictions in the return air path that you can Don...See Morecold air return vent in basement
Comments (3)You'll hear a lot of debate about this one - some will say you can't do it without calculating a Manual J etc but the reality is there's a lot of boilerplate hvac systems, at least where I am in Canada. I have two returns in the upper floor of my house only a couple of metres apart, and none in the finished basement and none in any of the bedrooms, which I've been told is an 'impossibility' - well here in Canada, it's not and the system works well enough - the master bedroom is a bit cooler with the door closed, but it's above a poorly insulated garage. I see a lot of basements with the return in the ceiling. Warm air does rise, though, and in the summer you might want some of that cooler air in the basement circulating upstairs, so I'm planning to do exactly what you mentioned, put the return near the floor, backing onto the furnace room. If there was some sort of big issue with changed airflow, you could probably block off an equivalent of the downstairs return vent in the upper return, to equalise the air flow, but to this layperson, the SUPPLY of cold air is not as much of an issue if you're not getting cavitation (a vacuum effect because the pump isn't able to suck in as much air as it's trying to deliver.) Take some temperature readings over a few hours in different spots in the house, and make note whether the furnace is running a lot more than it was previously. The 'duct work' typically is either the space between floor joists or a boxed duct around the same size, or, running down the wall, typical stud wall spacing, 16." That's what I see here in British Columbia, again, I'm not an HVAC tech. Don't go excessively large. If you go through the furnace room wall you won't need much in the way of ducting and if you need to you can use thermopan (silver faced cardboard) instead of drywall or OSB to form the 'duct' from the floor up to the return (make sure you cut into the return, not the warm air section and make triple sure you're not going to damage any wires, gas lines, a/c lines etc. As for the return, the standard size grille is about the width of the space between studs I guess so around 16?" If you need to tweak it, you can block sections of it or the upstairs one inside under the grille if you need to. If you're careful, you're not going to damage anything irrevocably....See MoreMoving a return air vent from floor to wall?
Comments (14)Be sure you research and test the difference between Registers and Returns. The return ducts in a forced air system are most important to maintain, as they provide fresh air to your system. They should not be blocked or altered without a professional inspection as this can damage your blower motor, and also effect the flow of air causing your furnace to run longer. The furnace itself has a filter to clean the air. as long as you maintain a clean filter, you should be good....See Moremike_home
4 years agoBT
4 years agoElmer J Fudd
4 years agoBT
4 years agomike_home
4 years agoBT
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoVignesh Kumar
4 years agoDavid Cary
4 years agoElmer J Fudd
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
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