Does Central Air work with floor vents?

[spacewig]

I am trying to get quotes on central air being installed at my home. I currently only have natural gas heating with a furnace in the garage and all of the vents are in the floors on the upper level. (garage is under house near basement). I am getting mixed answers. Will central air work with small floor vents and what size unit should I have installed.
Thanks
Shawn

[hvacjamie]

it can work. size will be determined by installer.

[dpatty]

You may have to get a mobile home unit that has a high static blower but you still have some limitation at that. Finding a good contractor will solve your problem.

[Panama]

Floor supply vents are the rule in Colorado. Sometimes they work; sometimes they don't. The ones that don't work usually have inadequate air flow. This allows the air to just flow across the floor to the nearest return -- or down the stairs to a lower floor. Good throw and adequate mixing with room air is essential.

I've never seen an ACCA Manual T, but I suspect it discusses floor supply vents.

[BaldLoonie]

Very common in many parts of the country. Having high returns is important. If you have low returns, the cold air will hug the floor and it will be warm from a few feet off the floor to the ceiling.

[indian]

Floor registers only work south of the equator, this why they have high return ductwork. The same rule also applies in Colorado. Seeming they think so highly of themselves the supply registers are in the floor. Colorado plumbers have figured out that cr@p can run uphill with the adequate amount of sophistication.

[jerrod6]

I am a home owner and have CA with floor vents. I live in a 3 story house with the living room on the first floor having 13ft ceilings and the masterbedroom suite on the 2 1/2 floor having 14ft ceilings.

Every room has it's own return and in the living room and all rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floors the returns are near the ceiling. the Masterbedroom has returns at the floor and ceiling. All of the hall ways on each floor also have returns in the walls close to the floors.

The floor vents are small in smaller rooms. Larger rooms have larger vents and some of them have two vents in the floor on each side of the room instead of just one.

It was 99 here today witih high humidity and tonight at midnight it is currently 87. Inside the first floor is 73 and the masterbedroom is 72. Bedrooms in the 3rd floor are 73, so yeah i guess it can work. I think air flow is important. In the room farthest away from the blower unit, the air flow pulled from the return is strong enough to suck and hold at least 3 sheets of copy paper against the return vent which is near the ceiling, so there IS air moving.

The house was designed and constructed with heat/CA vents coming from the floor so I think proper design and installation will be critical to your success.

[Black Adder]

What's with all the picking on Colorada? I would think in most places of the US and Canada heating is far more of a priority than cooling. It is very common to have the vents in the floor.

[indian]

I'm not from Texas, but I'd rather move to Texas if it became the ultimate right to pick on people from Colorado! I would only go to Colorado to visit relatives, otherwise look for a vacation in Texas. Maybe it has to do with the lack of oxygen in the upper altitudes that makes it sound like a bunch of whiners up there!

[dash]

We're in Florida,thousands and thousands of manufactured home(mobiles),with floor supplies and floor or low wall returns .They work just fine.


IF the supply grilles and the units fan motor can "throw" (push) the supply air to 6' ,approx. above the floor.


Check Manuals ,T and D and you'll see there is no reason it cnot work properly,if designed properly.


Now in this case we have existing ducts ,that were installed originally as heating only,so they need to be evaluated by a Pro,to determine ,If they are adequate or not.

The floors grille need to be the type that directs the air stright up in most cases.




Where are you located and what's the model number of the furnace,and tonnage of A/C planned?

[mayguy]

Pretty much all homes with basements, the supply vents are on the floor, or baseboards in old homes and works fine.. LIke most already said, as long you got good air "throw" and returns, should not be a problem.