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Posted by Jimi on May 28, 2006, 11:01 am
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?
There could be a negative flow, but no great pressure...again, it would
be so small they you wouldn't notice. If your furnace is in a small room
where your fresh air intake is, yes the air would go under the door.
One thing that you don't adress is the registers. The cold air intake
isn't the only variable that can be changed or relied upon for cold and/or
heat comfort. You can open and close your registers or floor vents or walls
to regulate what air goes where. Depending on where you live they may be
needed to be adjusted every season or only once in the houses lifetime. You
can do a lot by adjusting your registers so I wouldn't get too worried about
the placement of the air intake. Hope that was of some help...Jimi
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Posted by on May 28, 2006, 5:36 pm
So it sounds like I can keep the basement air return and do some
blocking between seasons to see how this affects temperature among the
3 levels.
One last question. What is this backdraft danger for some instnaces
where air returns in teh basement can cause? Still can't wrap my head
around this yet. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
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Posted by dkarnes on May 28, 2006, 6:58 pm
affiliateian@gmail.com wrote:
> So it sounds like I can keep the basement air return and do some
> blocking between seasons to see how this affects temperature among the
> 3 levels.
>
> One last question. What is this backdraft danger for some instnaces
> where air returns in teh basement can cause? Still can't wrap my head
> around this yet. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
>
i would not block any air return. unless you enlarge another return in
some other location. you have to do calculations on returns so you don't
put strain on the blower.
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Posted by Stormin Mormon on May 28, 2006, 9:57 pm
Heat rises. Cold sinks.
Where do you think you will find cold air?
--
Christopher A. Young
You can't shout down a troll.
You have to starve them.
.
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)?
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Posted by on May 28, 2006, 10:35 pm
Stormin Mormon wrote:
> Heat rises. Cold sinks.
>
> Where do you think you will find cold air?
>
> --
>
> Christopher A. Young
> You can't shout down a troll.
> You have to starve them.
Was that supposed to be a smart remark?
Just to clarify, the situation changes with the seasons. In the summer
months, the main goal would be to have the upper most air return draw
the most humid and heated air while in the winter months to maximize
the comfort of the entire home. From my research, many home owners have
indiacted that having a air returnin teh basement in teh summer with
central A/C actually makes the basement much cooler than it needs to
be. As another useful poster suggested, maybe keeping all 3 returns and
making adjustments to registers and returns to try and "balance" the
comfrot levels as much as possible with the changing seasons is the
best method. Again, I am a newbie at this and was looking for advice
and help. Not smart a$$ remarks with no further explanation... Mr T.,
have you been fed enough? <-- again, please see your own signature.
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