Moving Return Air Duct

Calculate the return duct size based on the air conditioner s size and the type of duct you are using.

Moving return air duct.

In most cases you can gain several inches of headroom. I am going to be installing a 5 patio door where my dining room window currently is. Need to move return air vent. A mismatch in return air inlet grille or duct size will reduce the system s effectiveness.

Air handler platforms used as return air plenums can draw air from vented attics and crawlspaces through other connected framing cavities. Return air ducts usually use ceiling joist spaces as the actual duct which then runs back toward the furnace. If the supply ducts are high or in the ceiling then the return air ducts or grills should be low on a wall. Sketch out the current duct layout and note the location of each joint.

This pulls the air across your body. Forced air heating and cooling systems use ducts to move conditioned air from the furnace heat pump or air conditioner back into the living space inside the house. The air that it s conditioning though isn t just whatever it can get. Use the following formulas.

Size of air conditioner example. Measure the existing ducts that are too low. The problem is that there is a return air vent in the wall directly under the window that needs to be moved before i can install the door. To do this cut away any duct tape with a utility knife then loosen and remove the duct screws.

Detach the connection where the flexible duct meets the circular end of the rigid duct. The return air vent openings need to be on the opposite side of the room so the conditioned air is pulled across the room. While none of these spaces makes an acceptable air pathway on its own some building cavities such as floor joists can make acceptable duct chases to contain an insulated air sealed metal or flex supply or return duct. When you put the ducts in an unconditioned attic and have the minimum insulation allowed you want to move the air at a higher velocity pushing it up near the maximum recommended by acca manual d 900 feet per minute fpm for supply ducts and 700 fpm for return ducts.

Without a return air duct the air would not properly circulate and your energy costs would rise. But the least disruptive and easiest way is to replace the low ducts with new ducts that are flatter but wider. If the supply ducts are in the floor then the return air should be located up high. A return air duct is what carries air back to the furnace after it is dispensed throughout the home through the supply duct.