Gas and Oil Home Heating Furnaces - Forced Air - Cool Air Return Question
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Morgation
09-11-02, 10:02 AM
We have propane forced air throughout the whole house. It is only one zone though and therefore the upstairs (which has a cool air return) is always much warmer than downstairs. Downstairs has only to vents for heat and no cool air return.
In order to generate more heat in the basement, will more vents help and also should i (or is it possible) to insert a cool air return? It would be nice if we could work with what we have instead of adding a new heat source.
Any help is appreciated.
In order to generate more heat in the basement, will more vents help and also should i (or is it possible) to insert a cool air return? It would be nice if we could work with what we have instead of adding a new heat source.
Any help is appreciated.
lynn comstock
09-11-02, 03:49 PM
Your problem is a nearly universal problem for multi-story homes. The solution lies in the supply ductwork. The return locations and numbers only matter when the interior doors of your home are closed.
As a TEST, close all of the vents on the first floor. If the supply air upstairs is still weak, the duct design is poor or there is a closed damper in the supply ductwork that you haven't found. (Reopen the vents when done.)
Redesigning and correcting the ducts AFTER the home is built is possible but EXPENSIVE and terribly inconvenient.
The solution lies in zoning current duct system or zoning your home with a separate heat pump or room air conditioners for the upstairs. This is not cheap and may even be impossible once the home is built.
I would use the duct zoning method if the TEST shows that the ductwork can in fact deliver enough air when the dounstairs area is closed. The zoning system will close down the downstairs area whenever it's thermostat is satisfied and the extra air will go to the upstairs area until its stat is satisfied also.
See:
http://www.dulley.com/docs/f505.htm
http://www.hvacrnews.com/editorials/zonecontrol.htm
http://content.honeywell.com/yourhome/zoning/zoning_manual/zoning_sec_12.htm
As a TEST, close all of the vents on the first floor. If the supply air upstairs is still weak, the duct design is poor or there is a closed damper in the supply ductwork that you haven't found. (Reopen the vents when done.)
Redesigning and correcting the ducts AFTER the home is built is possible but EXPENSIVE and terribly inconvenient.
The solution lies in zoning current duct system or zoning your home with a separate heat pump or room air conditioners for the upstairs. This is not cheap and may even be impossible once the home is built.
I would use the duct zoning method if the TEST shows that the ductwork can in fact deliver enough air when the dounstairs area is closed. The zoning system will close down the downstairs area whenever it's thermostat is satisfied and the extra air will go to the upstairs area until its stat is satisfied also.
See:
http://www.dulley.com/docs/f505.htm
http://www.hvacrnews.com/editorials/zonecontrol.htm
http://content.honeywell.com/yourhome/zoning/zoning_manual/zoning_sec_12.htm