On Jun 26, 1:38 pm, DerbyDad03 wrote:
This is a continuation of a thread I started a couple of weeks ago...

Recap - I mentioned that my basement was much cooler than the rest of
my house, even with the basement AC vents closed. I asked about
cutting a whole in the return trunk to move some of the cooler air
upstairs. The consensus was that if I got my return air from the
basement, I would be limiting the movement of air in the other rooms.

That's true in a sense. If you open a return vent in the basement,
then theoretically your return vent upstairs would not pull as much
air, thus limiting movement of air. But I have a return vent in the
basement at the base of my combo furnace&a/c unit and I keep it open
because it takes out the humidity in the basement, and I don't notice
any real compromise in my return upstairs.

The last question I asked was never answered, so I'm giving it another
shot:

If I were to *open* the basement vents *and* add a return in the
trunk, wouldn't the basement now be just like any other room? Would
that help to balance the temperatures across the 3 floors?

No, I would not open the basement vents because then you are robbing
your vents upstairs of airflow. The cold air in your house will
naturally migrate down the the basement. And the basement is the
coolest part of your house. I would still put in a return grill that
is adjustable so you can experiment with it. You might find it
actually helps if you have a humid basement.