return grille positioning..

[rkgtech]

Hi all

Since you guys are the gurus of HVACs - here's a quick question if you can help.

My furnace (split system) is on the mezzanine above the kitchen (in a HVAC room along with the water heater). The return grille faces the mezz area (don't even start talking about the noise !!). The air on the mezzanine is ALWAYS warm (of course). Is it acceptable for the furnace to keep reheating warm air? What are the repercussions of this?

Thanks!

PS - if you have a solution to the huge noise problem, that would be great too or better yet a SUPERB HVAC specialist in brooklyn, ny

Thanks much all !

[beenthere]

A pic would help.

[the dangling wrangler]

A pic would help.

I was going to say the same. Need pics to give an informed reply.

[rkgtech]

sure.. thanks much.. adding 3 pics here.

I took one pic from inside the HVAC room (the room is also used as a plenum) - you can see the filter from inside and to the right is the water heater.

Outside the grille, since everything was a hard surface, I added 2 soft curtains to absorb the sound - so, the return grille has blinders :-)

The mezzanine is about 8 ft above the main floor and looks down onto the living room - the grille is on the same level as the mezzanine.

the ceilings are about 14 ft high and it is a 930 sq ft apt. I have a GY9S120D20DH11J YORK furnace.. wonder if it is too much for the size of my apt.. maybe that's why the noise..

Does this help? Thanks much!

[heaterman]

Can't see the pics. As far as the furnace size, it appears to be over sized for the area but without all of the specifics, it's impossible to give an accurate assessment. That is a 120,000 btu unit with a 2000cfm blower (max rating). Using a single return grill certainly could result in a fair amount of air noise.

[rkgtech]

Can't see the pics. As far as the furnace size, it appears to be over sized for the area but without all of the specifics, it's impossible to give an accurate assessment. That is a 120,000 btu unit with a 2000cfm blower (max rating). Using a single return grill certainly could result in a fair amount of air noise.

thanks for the response.
weird.. i can view them when i click on them.. are they not showing up when you click on the img links?

i was thinking a 3.5 ton unit would be enough but i am not an expert... hence i do need an expert to come in.. the ceilings are high and the apt has exposure on all sides but 2.. so there are a lot of factors to consider :-(

[the dangling wrangler]

Same here, no pics. I think the site has a few bugs.

[heaterman]

The box for image attachments is there but no links in the box

[the dangling wrangler]

thanks for the response.
weird.. i can view them when i click on them.. are they not showing up when you click on the img links?

i was thinking a 3.5 ton unit would be enough but i am not an expert... hence i do need an expert to come in.. the ceilings are high and the apt has exposure on all sides but 2.. so there are a lot of factors to consider :-(

Don't guess at it. At the top of one of these pages is a link to do your own load calulation. Try it.

[rkgtech]

The box for image attachments is there but no links in the box

ok, here's a link to where i put all the pics

http://picasaweb.google.com/guha.ronnie/Tmp#

please let me know if this doesn't work.

thanks

[rkgtech]

Don't guess at it. At the top of one of these pages is a link to do your own load calulation. Try it.

not a bad idea.. i might try my hand at it.. just to get an idea.. i *think* the unit is too big for me.. just to make sure i will try this one..

thanks !

[the dangling wrangler]

ok, here's a link to where i put all the pics

http://picasaweb.google.com/guha.ronnie/Tmp#

please let me know if this doesn't work.

thanks

The link works but, I still don't get it. I guess I need a more over all pic, a wider angle, I'd have to say.

[rkgtech]

The link works but, I still don't get it. I guess I need a more over all pic, a wider angle, I'd have to say.

do u mean, looking from the mezzanine onto the HVAC room itself showing the grille position (or rather the blinders position)?

[the dangling wrangler]

Something like that. I think.

[rkgtech]

Something like that. I think.

ok, uploaded to the same link - first pic

http://picasaweb.google.com/guha.ronnie/Tmp#

you can see the whitish curtain the HVAC is inside it. you can see one vent.. i have it shut off since the mezzanine gets to be VERRRY hot.. the grille is in that cubby hole behind the curtain facing the camera and in between the two whitish looking sheets..

hope this helps.. return grille size for this is about 24X24.. as far as i remember.

thanks !

[the dangling wrangler]

Do you have "walls" of glass here? If so, heavy curtains would be your friends here. Relatively inexpensive, compared to other alternatives.

[rkgtech]

Do you have "walls" of glass here? If so, heavy curtains would be your friends here. Relatively inexpensive, compared to other alternatives.

yes, the *wall* facing the living room is all glass and open.. i was thinking of heavy curtains to make it sound proof for my musical instruments anyway.. might as well do it to reduce the noise.. how heavy do you think? something that wouldnt look hideous since it is VERY visible from the living room thanks much!

also, i am SERIOUSLY considering lowering the blower speed during winter months (this unit should have 4 blower speeds) it is right now at 2000 CFM - which IMHO is too high for my apt..

[the dangling wrangler]

You might need to sacrifice looks over function in this case. How heavy ? Heavy enough to insulate, shear drapes really wouldn't do anything , besides look good. What about reflective film? You want to stop that sun light, before it enters the living area. Other than that, I'm out of ideas. Let's see what the other guys have to offer up. Good Luck.

[heaterman]

We have run into this problem before and were able to reduce the noise by adding a "baffle plate" behind the grill to deflect some of the mechanical noise. Lowering the blower speed needs to be done while maintaining the proper temp rise or limit bouncing will result. In addition, using the entire mechanical room as a return air plenum is a bad idea not to mention a code violation in most areas. Using a mechanical contractor is the proper way to address this issue as modifications to the furnace and associated ducting system is not a DIY project.

[rkgtech]

We have run into this problem before and were able to reduce the noise by adding a "baffle plate" behind the grill to deflect some of the mechanical noise. Lowering the blower speed needs to be done while maintaining the proper temp rise or limit bouncing will result. In addition, using the entire mechanical room as a return air plenum is a bad idea not to mention a code violation in most areas. Using a mechanical contractor is the proper way to address this issue as modifications to the furnace and associated ducting system is not a DIY project.

I couldn't agree with you more - I need a mechanical/HVAC engineer to address this. The furnace is brand new (only 10 months old) and so is the building.. this shouldn't be the case :-(

I have called a few engineers and contractors and am waiting to hear back and get more details/quotes. am DEFINITELY not going to go with the cheapest - only the one who speaks most intelligently (like you guys).

thanks much!