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Cold air return near the ground or ceiling?

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Cold air return near the ground or ceiling? affiliateian 05-27-2006
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Posted by on May 27, 2006, 4:12 pm
The developer is coming back to put in a cold air return grill of which
they had dry walled over. The contractor will check to see if the grill
can be installed near the ceiling or the ground (depending if the studs
have been sealed off half way up the wall - usually, cold air returns
are near the ground).

This is for the top floor of a 3 floor home. Here is my thinking.
Experts in this area, please chime in. To help remove more heat in the
top floor, I am tempted to ask teh contractor to install the grill
close to the ceiling. Aesthetically, it may not be as pleasing but
wouldn't this help in drawing away some of the heat in the summer time?

My furnace has a 2 stage motor but the original developer only hooked
it up to run on 1 stage. I am getting central A/C put in and their
installer thinks he can re-setup the wires so that it can utilize the 2
stage blower. SO... on the hot days, the cold air return will, in
theory, pull out more heat from teh top floor (as it is closer to the
ceiling). In the cold days, it will still pull away more heat but I am
thinking this is ok since the heat will be on anyways. By the way,
thermostat is on middle floor. On the not so hot days, I am thinking I
can run the blower to circulate air without using the A/C or furnace
heat. Our furnace actually pulls air from cold air returns inside the
home as well as a duct that draws air from the outside of the house.

Any thoughts, advanatges or disadvantages on whether we should install
the cold air return near the ceiling or ground (on the 3rd floor)?


Posted by CJT on May 27, 2006, 4:57 pm
affiliateian@gmail.com wrote:

> The developer is coming back to put in a cold air return grill of which
> they had dry walled over. The contractor will check to see if the grill
> can be installed near the ceiling or the ground (depending if the studs
> have been sealed off half way up the wall - usually, cold air returns
> are near the ground).
>
> This is for the top floor of a 3 floor home. Here is my thinking.
> Experts in this area, please chime in. To help remove more heat in the
> top floor, I am tempted to ask teh contractor to install the grill
> close to the ceiling. Aesthetically, it may not be as pleasing but
> wouldn't this help in drawing away some of the heat in the summer time?
>
> My furnace has a 2 stage motor but the original developer only hooked
> it up to run on 1 stage. I am getting central A/C put in and their
> installer thinks he can re-setup the wires so that it can utilize the 2
> stage blower. SO... on the hot days, the cold air return will, in
> theory, pull out more heat from teh top floor (as it is closer to the
> ceiling). In the cold days, it will still pull away more heat but I am
> thinking this is ok since the heat will be on anyways. By the way,
> thermostat is on middle floor. On the not so hot days, I am thinking I
> can run the blower to circulate air without using the A/C or furnace
> heat. Our furnace actually pulls air from cold air returns inside the
> home as well as a duct that draws air from the outside of the house.
>
> Any thoughts, advanatges or disadvantages on whether we should install
> the cold air return near the ceiling or ground (on the 3rd floor)?
>
I think it depends on the climate you're in, since "cold air return" is
a misnomer in the south during much of the year. In the north, I'd
place it low, but high in the south (assuming Northern Hemisphere).

--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
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Posted by on May 27, 2006, 5:05 pm
CJT, can you explain your reasoning. I need more info, newbie here.


Posted by CJT on May 27, 2006, 5:11 pm
affiliateian@gmail.com wrote:

> CJT, can you explain your reasoning. I need more info, newbie here.
>
In the south where it's hot much of the year, you want to pull away the
hottest air (near the top) to run through your A/C; winter isn't the
issue. In the north, where winter IS the issue, you want to draw off
the coldest air to feed to your furnace.

At least, that's my thinking on the subject. But I agree with the
other poster that it's probably not a huge issue. In either case,
the outlet of the AC/furnace will be significantly cooler/warmer
than the air in the room, so the location of the return should only
make a marginal difference.

--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form che...@prodigy.net.

Posted by udarrell on May 27, 2006, 9:17 pm
affiliateian@gmail.com wrote:

>CJT, can you explain your reasoning. I need more info, newbie here.
>
>
Your furnace will be more efficient heating with the return air intakes
at the floor level.
Depending on where the supply air discharge diffusers are at, & airflow
rate and throw, near the ceiling can make a considerable difference in
the performance of the A/C mode.
If you could have it setup so you could switch from floor to ceiling on
the RA intakes it would be ideal. Some are doing that with new construction.
- udarrell - Darrell

--
Air Conditioning's Affordable Path to the "Human Comfort Zone Goal"
http://www.udarrell.com/air-conditioning-total-heat-enthalpy-latent-heat.html
http://www.udarrell.com/ac-trouble-shooting-superheat-subcooling.html

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