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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, 5:07 pm
Also forgot to add, we have a cold air return in the basement. I am
thinking I want to disbale this so teh basement does not freeze when
the A/C is on in the summer months. Any feedback for this on top of my
original question in the first post?


Real Goods Solar, Inc.
Posted by Doug Boulter on May 30, 2006, 7:48 pm
affiliateian@gmail.com wrote on 27 May 2006:

> Also forgot to add, we have a cold air return in the basement. I
> am thinking I want to disbale this so teh basement does not
> freeze when the A/C is on in the summer months.

Actually, what you want to do in the summer is close (or partially
close) some of the basement supply vents so little cold air goes
into the basement. You want to leave the return open so the cool,
but humid basement air is drawn into the A/C system and
dehumidified.


--
Doug Boulter

To reply by e-mail, remove the obvious word from the e-mail address

Posted by Goedjn on May 30, 2006, 1:06 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).


If your ceilings are high enough so that you can have a
pool of warmer air at the ceiling and not have your
head in it, then having the cold air returns low means that
you can cool the air that you're actually living in
faster. You'll eventually end up dealing with the
extra heat up high, by disfusion, mixing, and radiation,
but it buys you a bit of extra responsiveness.



Posted by Jimi on May 27, 2006, 5:06 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)?



Y'know, I don't think it really matters where you put the fresh air
intake as far as efficiency goies. I think the difference would be very
minumal.

I would however, want the cold air intake near the basement where
there is a cooler temperature and will cool your house in summertime when
you have the furnace shut off and the fan on manual.



Posted by on May 27, 2006, 9:14 pm
Thanks for the reply. I read somewhere that the more humid air is alos
the part that rises and was hoping the higher cold air return would
pull out more moisture and heat from the top floor. So it sounds like
there isn't much of a difference whether it's close to the ground or
ceiling.

And based on your reply, it also sounds like that I should leave my
basement cold air intake as is for cases where I will run the blower
for air when the A/C or heat is not on. What about for times when the
A/C is on. Would the aold air return in the basement create a negative
pressure and draw cold air form the upper 2 floors to cool the basement
even more? Any thoughts on whether I should keep the cold air return in
the basement woudl ab greatly appreciated. One more thing, the basement
is an open design and there is a big gap under the door to teh furnace
room. Wouldn't this act like a codl air return?


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