Running Heating And Cooling Ducts Through Ceiling And Flooring

For those considering the installation of ductwork under the floor as opposed to in attic space understanding the basics of air flow and the assets and limitations of your home are essential to design.

Running heating and cooling ducts through ceiling and flooring. Don t let a contractor talk you into it. Installing ductwork for heating and air conditioning is a bit like putting together a huge three dimensional jigsaw puzzle. The basic rules of the game however are the same whether you re. Ceiling ducts don t hog existing or potential closet wall or ceiling space making an interesting or worse unsightly decoration and ceiling vents don t present the decorative dilemma floor vents often due forcing furniture to strange locations to prevent blockages in airflow.

Every ac installation is a custom job with a host of variables effecting best practices for each location. Building codes are as varied as the state and county agencies who write them so be sure to check with your local building inspector s office before doing duct work yourself only to learn it all has to be torn out and replaced by a licensed installer. We re talking 20 feet max through the floors into the attic and another 20 feet across the attic into the bed room. Can i put a vent in the ceiling of the bedroom or must it be in the wall baseboard.

Ducts need to be run often through and under floors and if this isn t possible the installer may need to go through attics crawlspaces closets and beneath stairs. Can i run a new duct from the basement up the cavity into and across the attic and down through the ceiling of this room. In warm climates it is common practice to run heating and air conditioning ducting through attic spaces simply because it is easy to do. Homeowners can also combine the two types to generate the best efficiencies.

In my experience heating ducts that run through attics cause serious problems in snow country. As part of an hvac heating ventilation air conditioning system both floor and ceiling ducts deliver warm cool or just moving air. Unfortunately this practice is all too common in our northern cold climate putting air conditioning ducts in the hottest. As we are not on a slab we can place our gas ducted heating through the floor.

However it has also been suggested that we run a refrigerated air con through the same ducts. This is preferable as we live in a cold area of victoria and we understand that heating from the floor is better than through the ceiling. For example owners of multiple story homes might use a combination of floor ducts for heating and ceiling ducts for cooling.