Air Return From Finished Attic

If you leave a cold air return opening on the ceiling.

Air return from finished attic.

That would then reduce the flow of conditioned air to that space. Hot air heating systems function best if there is at least one cold air return on each floor of the house. That is why you need a cold air return image 1. I finished our basement with a cold air return located near the floor.

If you had no return air in your room you would create a positive pressure. 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. Air handler platforms used as return air plenums can draw air from vented attics and crawlspaces through other connected framing cavities. For the system to work you have to re circulate the air back to the furnace.

This pulls the air across your body. The basement is no exception to the rule. Essentially that allows the warm air to circulate better. It is close to the furnace and actually on an adjacent wall.

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. Open floor trusses used as return air plenums can draw air from any place connected to that floor. I also included a fresh air return with motorized damper to bring in outside air. What is different in the basement is that most of the ductwork is on the ceiling.

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. First check for head clearance. Essentially you re bringing the attic into the rest of the house. Building codes vary by location but most require at least a 7 foot clearance for attic expansions.

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. This isolates the attic from the rest of the home which means the attic isn t part of the conditioned envelope. 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. If the supply ducts are in the floor then the return air should be located up high.

At 21c i d guess you have a lot of leaks on the return side. Supply air from furnaces and air conditioners should be on outside walls.