DIYbanter - View Single Post - Cold air return near the ground or ceiling?

wrote:

The developer is coming back to put in a cold air return grill of which
they had dry walled over. The contractor will check to see if the grill
can be installed near the ceiling or the ground (depending if the studs
have been sealed off half way up the wall - usually, cold air returns
are near the ground).

This is for the top floor of a 3 floor home. Here is my thinking.
Experts in this area, please chime in. To help remove more heat in the
top floor, I am tempted to ask teh contractor to install the grill
close to the ceiling. Aesthetically, it may not be as pleasing but
wouldn't this help in drawing away some of the heat in the summer time?

My furnace has a 2 stage motor but the original developer only hooked
it up to run on 1 stage. I am getting central A/C put in and their
installer thinks he can re-setup the wires so that it can utilize the 2
stage blower. SO... on the hot days, the cold air return will, in
theory, pull out more heat from teh top floor (as it is closer to the
ceiling). In the cold days, it will still pull away more heat but I am
thinking this is ok since the heat will be on anyways. By the way,
thermostat is on middle floor. On the not so hot days, I am thinking I
can run the blower to circulate air without using the A/C or furnace
heat. Our furnace actually pulls air from cold air returns inside the
home as well as a duct that draws air from the outside of the house.

Any thoughts, advanatges or disadvantages on whether we should install
the cold air return near the ceiling or ground (on the 3rd floor)?

I think it depends on the climate you're in, since "cold air return" is
a misnomer in the south during much of the year. In the north, I'd
place it low, but high in the south (assuming Northern Hemisphere).

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