Cold Air Return Basement Code

One other caution is to have the cold air.

Cold air return basement code. We have a 1 440 square foot basement under a full two storey home heated with a high efficiency gas furnace. We have four warm air outlets in the basement with no cold air returns. There is no cold air return. Unlike supply vents return vents do not need to be cased in metal.

Even with the vent closed that area of the basement stays pretty cool even in the hottest part of the summer. I wouldn t recommend it. By putting the cold air return on the floor it will vacuum up the cold air on the floor and draw down the warm air from the ceiling. Do you have a supply air vent in the basement already.

It will prevent mold and solve why your basement is cold all the. Another thing he mentioned that i would like to discussed was that the only way i can have a cold air return in the basement was if i put a 5 dia insulated flex duct from the outside fresh air intake and bring it into the basement and loop it up like a u this way fresh air is introduced will balance out the pressures and the cold air return can circulate fresh air through out the house. So turn the cold air return 90 degrees through the wall so that it actually draws the air from the room next to the furnace room or from the hallway of the basement. The 2009 iecc section 403 2 2 requires that duct systems be pressure tested or all ducts and air handlers be located in conditioned space.

In heating a heat pump will warm the returning a. By code building cavities used for air return can only convey air from one floor level back to the hvac blower 2006 and 2009 irc m1601 1 1 7. A friend who used to install furnaces told me to cut a return in the cold air return to the furnace near the floor. I m thinking about adding a cold air return near the bottom of the floor and uncovering the vent.

They can be placed into staircase cavities stacked closets that run one on top of the other or in stud cavities in the wall. Aside from some of the already mentioned code and safety concerns you might also be reducing your unit s efficiency. Building cavities used to convey return air located over a crawlspace or next to an unconditioned.