Room above garage cold: 1 versus 2 vents

[cn]

House built 1991
2-story
Front garage
Room above garage is FINISHED, hardwood, insulation dry wall etc. It is a nice bedroom, but

IT IS COLD because the original HVAC installer (from the previous owner) installed ONLY one vent (4x10) in this room.

I have adjusted vents from the other rooms to partially close to push more air in this room but it is still COLD.

My options:
1. Electric Heater when needed
2. Any other HVAC ideas?

I think the original installer did NOT realize that this room is ABOVE AN UNHEATED Garage and naturally requires more vents.

My friend house has the same room but two (2) vents.

Any solutions???

TIA

cn

[atphvac]

Go to http://www.arzelzoning.com. Most rooms over garages tend to lose heat more quickly than other parts of the home and a zoning system will help. You will probably need an extra duct as well but keep in mind that simply adding another duct without a zoning system can lessen the temperature differential but probably wont make the room comfortable.

[uktra]

The real problem is air infiltration from the garage and kneewall areas (if you have kneewalls). Fiberglass insulation in the garage ceiling/kneewall areas does not stop air. You need to dense pack cellulose insulation in the garage ceiling. For kneewalls, you need to put foam chutes under roof sheathing and net and pack cellulose, cutting off air from the eve vents. The other way to solve the problem is to zone the room above the garage--but this won't save money.

[cn]

adding insualtion would be out of the question for me (cost).

It looks like Electric Heater may help.
Thanks.

cn

[docholiday]

Bonus rooms are a challenge, there is no doubt, but unless you can warrant enough airflow I would not recommend zoning something with a load so very different from the rest of the home. You will probably also find it tends to be warmer in the summer as well.

The most practical solution is a dedicated system, maybe a ductless mini split heat pump.

My home, also has a room above the garage and it was finished long after the rest of the home. The rest of the home has remarkably even temps throughout and I would probably create problems trying to address just that room with the exsisting system. The room is only about 100 square feet so I've been on the look out for a 9k mini heat pump for it. (I think thats as small as I can get. I dont want a PTAC as it is in the front of the house.

[atphvac]

We have used zoning with excellent results and many of our customers report lower utility bills as well. I zoned my sisters 2800 sf colonial (oil fired) into 4 separate zones and every zone is the exact temp that the stat is set at. Properly designed and installed zoning can cure most any air distribution issueBelow the knee walls in the bonus room over the garage we used fiberglass duct board to stop infiltration through the insulation and under the floor.

[RoBoTeq]

I am 100% with doc on this one. There is just too much of a difference in heat loss/heat gain factors for this type of room to ever be comfortable with the central system.

Yes, proper zoning controls could do the job but to properly do this you will need to do some fancy ductwork to handle that room only being conditioned without taxing the HVAC systems air capacity.

If the room is large enough to go with its own ducted system, then do it, if not, then go ductless.

[uktra]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by cn
[B]adding insualtion would be out of the question for me (cost).

It looks like Electric Heater may help.
Thanks.

The electric heater won't help you in summer when it gets too hot in that room. The only way you can make that room comfortable is a zone off the existing system, or a small mini-split system. Either of those opttions will cost as much or more than the insulation I suggested and still not save you money. Your choice is either live with the temperature difference and have the utility bills you now see, or insulate properly and lower utility bills. It all depends on how long you plan to stay in the home and what you use to heat the home.

[james mo]

IF heating is your only concern,Heat the garage. If you have natural gas, Enerco makes an economical radiant heater for garages. If you heat the garage to say 50 degrees, this will reduce the heat loss in the rooms above. Not to mention warm, dry vehicles. No power required, just a natural gas line.

[uktra]

Nothing like heating an uninsulated garage to save money. Gas will go down in price in the next ten years--right?

[browntigerus]

We had same problem with our old house.

Instead of messing with ductwork, zoning, etc...

We went to menards, and bought heat & cool ceiling fan. It has remote, so you can adjust your room temp to whatever the heck you want.

My in-laws stayed with us and really liked the toy.

Brian

[Xavier]

How many "Return" vents are in the room?

Very simple, if you DO NOT remove the old air from the room there is no space for the new (in particular warm) air and there will not be many air exchanges!

To explain this, take a glass of cold water and place it under the tap and let warm water run on it. How long will it take to warm the water? Now empty the glass of cold water and fill it with warm water!!

To balance a forced air system, you do it on the "Return" side not the supply side! This is why I do not recommed zoning. Most systems do not address "Return Air Balancing"!

[james mo]

Economy at the expense of comfort is ridiculous. We heat and cool homes for comfort and (efficiency/economy) is a variable we work with. There are more economical and intrusive ways to fix this problem, but if you would like to have a heated garage, a garage heater is a relatively simple remedy. If heating was installed as a neccessity with economy as the driving design parameter, we would all have a cast iron stove in the living room and 50 blankets in the bedrooms.