Gas and Oil Home Heating Furnaces - Novel solution to cooling problem - feasible?
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07-25-01, 09:56 PM
First off - this post will probably be long, so I apologize in advance <G>.
I recently moved in to a new house. There is a main floor, a large finished attic area with dormer and a walkout basement (currently unfinised). With the high temperatures of late, the upstairs (attic) stays much hotter than the main or basement (by at least 10 degrees). There are currently 2 vents run to the upstairs (Central A/C, Gas Heat) - 1 goes into standard bedroom, the other into the master bedroom. The reg. bedroom one blows good air - it sits nearly directly on top of the blower - and cools the room and some of the hallway fine. The one in the MBR does not blow near as well - it's 3/4's the length of the house and a floor away from the blower.
As a solution I thought about 1) running an additional vent to the room from the A/C or 2) connecting one of those inline electrical fans where the ducting branches from the main trunk to increase airflow. While I would like feedback on each of these idea's, I have a 3rd I'd really like to hear comments on:
Since the basement is well insulated and remains cool/low humidity, I thought of just running a new duct from the basement directly to the MBR - not connecting to the main ducting - and placing an inline fan to force the cooler basement air to the 2nd floor. What drawbacks would this create? Any major cons? My idea is that in the winter I can use the same set-up to help balance the warm/heater air as well. Additionally, wouldn't this help with overall air circulation throught the house? Thanks in advance for the comments and suggestions.
J
I recently moved in to a new house. There is a main floor, a large finished attic area with dormer and a walkout basement (currently unfinised). With the high temperatures of late, the upstairs (attic) stays much hotter than the main or basement (by at least 10 degrees). There are currently 2 vents run to the upstairs (Central A/C, Gas Heat) - 1 goes into standard bedroom, the other into the master bedroom. The reg. bedroom one blows good air - it sits nearly directly on top of the blower - and cools the room and some of the hallway fine. The one in the MBR does not blow near as well - it's 3/4's the length of the house and a floor away from the blower.
As a solution I thought about 1) running an additional vent to the room from the A/C or 2) connecting one of those inline electrical fans where the ducting branches from the main trunk to increase airflow. While I would like feedback on each of these idea's, I have a 3rd I'd really like to hear comments on:
Since the basement is well insulated and remains cool/low humidity, I thought of just running a new duct from the basement directly to the MBR - not connecting to the main ducting - and placing an inline fan to force the cooler basement air to the 2nd floor. What drawbacks would this create? Any major cons? My idea is that in the winter I can use the same set-up to help balance the warm/heater air as well. Additionally, wouldn't this help with overall air circulation throught the house? Thanks in advance for the comments and suggestions.
J
lynn comstock
07-27-01, 05:00 PM
1) This is the best option IF space allows. Replacing the existing duct branch with a larger one is essentially the same concept. Avoid unnecessary twists and turns in the branch duct since this causes friction and reduces the airflow.
2) In-line fans are an option, but I believe that they sound better than they would work...especially if the fan is a propeller type.
3) This option would probably warm up the basement much better than it would cool off the attic.
4) An unmentioned option is to decrease the heat entering the attic with insulation, window shading or awnings, etc.
This is a good idea to add to one of the other options.
2) In-line fans are an option, but I believe that they sound better than they would work...especially if the fan is a propeller type.
3) This option would probably warm up the basement much better than it would cool off the attic.
4) An unmentioned option is to decrease the heat entering the attic with insulation, window shading or awnings, etc.
This is a good idea to add to one of the other options.