Air Ducts Near the Ceiling Are Most Effective Many people don't realize this because it is common to see air vents located near the floor in older homes. With vents near the floor, however, furniture often ends up blocking vents and causing the air to get trapped.
Because warm air rises, it tends to accumulate near the ceiling in these spaces. To maintain an even temperature throughout the room, return air vents should ideally be positioned higher on the walls or near the ceiling to capture the rising warm air effectively.
Depending on your system and home's construction, builders place these vents in the ceiling, on the floor, under windows, or on exterior walls. Return registers pull stagnant air from the room and send it to the HVAC unit through the air ducts. Some homes only have one return register in a central location.
You could install ventilation into every room of the house, but you can also achieve great results by fitting intake vents in key rooms such as the bedrooms and living room and having extractors in bathrooms and the kitchen. This would mean your house has a gentle flow of fresh air throughout the property.
It's also important to consider your personal preferences when deciding whether to make cooling or heating your primary concern. Ceiling vents do a better job cooling and floor vents do a better job heating. If your priority is cooling, put your HVAC in the attic and ducting and heating vents in the ceiling.
Cons Of Ceiling Vents
Inefficient Air Distribution For Heating – If the unit is used year-round, some heated air will be lost due to heat transfer. Remember, heat rises, so if it starts at the ceiling, it has nowhere to go but up.
While living in the south, you may have noticed that extreme heat is more common than extreme cold. If you remember basic science, you'll know that hot air rises, and cold air sinks, making ceiling vents the delivery location of choice for places that often experience warmth and humidity.
Install a vent near the ceiling where it won't be obstructed, which can reduce efficiency. In hot climates, floor vents are effective for providing cool air. In a humid location, install floor return vents and use ceiling fans to conserve energy. Vents near the ceiling help cool air circulate and can increase comfort.
Whole-house ventilation system costs $700 to $2,700. This mechanical ventilation system uses a series of fans or a whole-house fan and ducts to cool, heat, and improve the home's air quality. All of the mechanical ventilation systems can be used to achieve whole-house ventilation.
Floor registers are ideal for efficient heating
Floor registers are the best option if you live in a climate that requires heating more than cooling. Warm air naturally rises. Warm air rises from the floor and heats the room.
Vents are typically located on the walls, floors, or ceilings of a home and can be opened or closed to regulate the flow of air.
In fact, when installing return ducts it is always advisable to avoid putting them in bathrooms or kitchens. This would just simply cause the heating and air system to circulate cooking odors and moisture throughout the system.
Efficiency and Air Flow
Further, adding the vents here prevents your home from having a convection current that draws cold air in. It instead buffers the cold air from outside and prevents cross drafts which could make you less comfortable in your home during the winter.
When vents are placed near the ceiling, air is able to more freely circulate throughout the room. Furniture is also less likely to obstruct the flow of air. This allows your home's heating and cooling system to make each space more comfortable while improving your energy efficiency along the way.
Adding a return air vent will cost homeowners $350 per vent on average, depending on the vent size and duct material. A professional can assess the right duct material you need for your home and can give you an accurate estimate.
Generally, the size of your home determines how many vents you will need per room. If your room is larger than 100 square feet, you will need more than one vent (at least two) to really get adequate airflow to the room. If the room is smaller, you only need one.
Definitions of whole house fan vs. attic fan vary by region, causing some confusion. In a nutshell, whole house fans are designed to run after sundown, using cool night air to ventilate and cool your entire living space. Attic fans are designed to run on hot sunny days to clear super-heated air from your attic.
Positive Input Ventilation Systems (PIV) are more effective at protecting your whole home from condensation, damp, and mould than simple extractors. They do run continuously to circulate air, but thanks to their efficient design, they are quite cheap to run.
However, if you get rid of the moisture, the mould will be unable to grow. As such, ventilation is key in the fight against mould. A simple and cost effective way to ventilate is to use the RUK passive air vent.
You can add a vent to existing ductwork if your AC can handle it.
Return registers can be large and centrally located in your home, or they can be in every room. HVAC professionals recommend that each room have a cold air return vent to help with flow and temperature control. These vents are typically found on an interior wall.
The best floor registers for residential spaces direct air flow in four directions. Registers used in walls and ceilings force colder air down into a room while those in floors push heated air up. This creates a more even temperature throughout the space.
Floor vents are often ideal for colder climates, distributing warm air efficiently, while ceiling vents excel in cooling setups for warmer regions like ours. Each type offers specific benefits based on your HVAC needs, home layout, and seasonality.
Typically the biggest disadvantage is just how how or cold the attic gets. There will be considerable pressure against the insulation any time the space surrounding the duct is a significantly different than the air inside the duct. That will make proper insulation even more important.