Are Your Air Returns Adequate in Your Air Conditioned Home?

With the warm weather season in full swing in northeast Ohio, it’s important to have your central air conditioning working as efficiently as possible. This is especially important if you’re living in a multi-story home where temperature differences between the upstairs and downstairs levels can easily grow as the season progresses. If you’re having trouble cooling off your upstairs levels, chances are you may need to take a look at your air returns.

Are your air returns doing an adequate job?

It’s a fact that hot air rises while cool air sinks to the surface. As hot air builds up in your home, it eventually makes its way into the upper levels of your home. As a result, your temperature difference between upstairs and downstairs can be as much as 10 degrees.

Return air ducting provides a way to siphon off hot air that rises towards the upstairs areas. As the hot air is pulled out of the room and recirculated through the central air conditioning, the conditioned air is also pulled through the room and up toward the air return, cooling the entire room. This ducting also provides well-needed room air circulation to prevent stale air and odors.

For optimum efficiency, an air return should be located in each room near the ceiling, preferably on an interior wall. Returns should also be free of any obstacles that constrict or block airflow.

If your home doesn’t have air returns or if they’re installed incorrectly, it’s only a matter of contacting your NATE certified HVAC contractor to have the required ducting installed. With the proper sizing and installation, your air conditioner will be able to work effectively and efficiently throughout the warm weather months.

For more information about air returns and other aspects of your home’s heating and cooling system, contact the professionals at Stack Heating & Cooling. Since 1976, we’ve proudly provided residents in the greater Cleveland area with their HVAC service and repair needs.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Cleveland, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock