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Why_Smallbody · Aug 20, 2015, 04:02 AM

I am trying to solve the problem of me shivering downstairs while my husband is sweating in the bedroom. For a perfect fix, I probably need to install a jumper duct on the return system, but I'd rather improve the situation with work I could do myself. Our downstairs is basically one big open space with three supply vents and a great return, so the AC down there works beautifully. Upstairs, We've only got two supply vents coming out right above the baseboards. The "returns" are just holes cut into the floor that connect to the living room ceiling. To my untrained eye, it seems INCREDIBLY stupid that these return vent holes are DIRECTLY beneath the supply vents. I think any air that is being forced into the room is just getting sucked right back downstairs. (There is no duct work in the hallway or bathroom, so leaving the door open just makes the room hotter.) My theory is that if I blocked off these poorly placed vents and cut new ones above the bedroom doors we would get much better air flow. Does that make sense? Any better ideas? Should I bother paying someone to come look at the room size, layout, etc. and give me advice?

hkstroud · Aug 20, 2015, 06:02 AM

, it seems INCREDIBLY stupid that these return vent holes are DIRECTLY beneath the supply vents.

You are correct, that is incredibly stupid. The returns upstairs should be in the ceiling. During the heating season the warm air rises to the ceiling. Doesn't do you much good up there. It needs to be pulled back into the system and recirculated.
During the cooling system the cooler air is just being pulled back into the system and the warmer air at the ceiling stays there. It needs to be pulled into the system and cooled. If the returns upstairs must be n the floor, they could at least be on the other side of the room.

You said that the downstairs was basically one big open space. That is probably the reason the system was designed the way it is.

Ceiling fans in each room upstairs would probably help. Not much else you can do yourself unless you can get duct work from the ceiling upstairs to the main return in the downstairs ceiling.

Best thing for the long run would be to put a heating and cooling system in the attic for the upstairs. Probably pay for itself in a few years in reduced heating and cooling cost.

Why_Smallbody · Aug 20, 2015, 10:12 AM

Thanks! I have a flat roof, so I don't think there is much of an attic. There must be some space up there, but for some reason it is completely sealed off.

ballengerb1 · Aug 20, 2015, 11:01 AM

Cutting holes in the second floor is an old time retro fit fix that never worked. The home originally was heated some other way. You need to run a return duct from the furnace to the upper interior wall of the second floor. Hot air rises and gets trapped upstairs, you need to pull out that hot air to make room for cooler air to reach the ceiling on the second floor.