Air Return From Finished Attic

That s measured after you finish the ceiling if you don t have enough height you ll have to raise the roof line and that adds a lot to your construction costs.

Air return from finished attic.

I finished our basement with a cold air return located near the floor. Most codes require a specified minimum amount of headroom and it s tough to meet this requirement when insulating a finished attic especially since most. I also included a fresh air return with motorized damper to bring in outside air. This isolates the attic from the rest of the home which means the attic isn t part of the conditioned envelope.

The basement is no exception to the rule. Open floor trusses used as return air plenums can draw air from any place connected to that floor. To meet all three goals insulating your finished attic ventilating the roof and maximizing headroom use a combination of dense batt insulation rigid foam sheeting and air chutes. At 21c i d guess you have a lot of leaks on the return side.

One of the most effective ways to convert your attic space into a spare bedroom is to remove the insulation from the floor and add insulation to the attic ceiling. It is close to the furnace and actually on an adjacent wall. Supply air from furnaces and air conditioners should be on outside walls. If you leave a cold air return opening on the ceiling.

What is different in the basement is that most of the ductwork is on the ceiling. A return air temp b outside air temp c airflow across evaporator coil d return air leaks from attic if you measure supply and return temperatures at the grille and at the air handler you can get an good idea of where your biggest losses are occurring. Air handler platforms used as return air plenums can draw air from vented attics and crawlspaces through other connected framing cavities. The return air vent openings need to be on the opposite side of the room so the conditioned air is pulled across the room.

That is why you need a cold air return image 1. If the supply ducts are in the floor then the return air should be located up high. This pulls the air across your body. Essentially that allows the warm air to circulate better.

It s much better to place it low to suck out the cold stratified air. Building codes vary by location but most require at least a 7 foot clearance for attic expansions. First check for head clearance. Hot air heating systems function best if there is at least one cold air return on each floor of the house.

For the system to work you have to re circulate the air back to the furnace. Essentially you re bringing the attic into the rest of the house.