Sorry this isn't garage related, but I have two registers in my basement and no air return. The basement is not finished. I have to imagine that an air return would help keep the basement warmer in winter and less humid in summer. I was thinking of installing a return grille at the end of the return trunk just to pull some of the basement air in. Is there any major concern with doing this? I am aware of creating a vaccuum which could pull exhaust gases, but there are already two supply ducts down there so maybe that isn't an issue. The water heater is power vented. Will there be musty air blowing all over the house? I will be finishing the basement eventually but not any time soon, at which point there will be more registers and returns installed.
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Cold Air Return in Basement
- Thread starter Mike83
- Start date
rocketman
Well-known member
Is your furnace in the basement?
Is your furnace in the basement?
Yes, approx 15 feet from where the end of the return trunk where I would install the return.
Previous owner that finished our basement extended the cold air return to include a register that poked through the wall (At floor level) that separates the furnace room, and everything is "kosher". I run the furnace fan on "continuous" and it is comfortable year round. The more air circulation, the better.
His200HerScout
Well-known member
I have 2 registers and a return in my finished basement. On warm, but not hot, days, I can run the furnace fan and that cold basement air cools the upstairs. It's like having the A/C on.
larry4406
Well-known member
The heating contractor that worked for our company did not install basement returns if the basement was not finished. If the basement was finished, it had more supply ductwork and then a return cut in. yes the furnace is in the basement.
Ezzie
Well-known member
Just doing a renovation of my basement and am dealing with this. The house is a one story bungalow with full basement and is about 35 yrs. old. The furnace is in the basement at end of the basement. There are hot and cold main ducts that run the entire length of the house down the middle and all of the upstairs registers (including cold air returns) are connected to these ducts. There were only 3 hot air registers in the ceiling of the basement and one cold air duct (about a 5") also in the ceiling. Didn't circulate worth a damn and the basement has always been damp and as a result musty smelling (mould).
I am redoing the walls to take it up to R27 (4"-5" urethane foam) and the floor to R5+ (1" polystyrene board with 5/8" plywood on top). I have built a 12" x 24" air box around one of the steel posts and will connect it into the cold air return duct at the ceiling. I will put a couple of grills at the floor opening into this air box and hopefully that should draw the air down from the ceiling and give me much better circulation.
I am redoing the walls to take it up to R27 (4"-5" urethane foam) and the floor to R5+ (1" polystyrene board with 5/8" plywood on top). I have built a 12" x 24" air box around one of the steel posts and will connect it into the cold air return duct at the ceiling. I will put a couple of grills at the floor opening into this air box and hopefully that should draw the air down from the ceiling and give me much better circulation.
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