HVAC technicians can't fix basement airflow vents
11 posts in the last 90 days, all from r/hvacadvice.
“HVAC equipment is in the basement. We're almost done finishing the rest of the basement. There are only 2 vents, but it gets too cold in the basement while trying to make the rest of the house comfortable. I have a 6in wall vent pipe that opens into a rectangular vent. I can't…”
“Okay so, I live in an apartment complex. There is 0 maintenance done on the system. It's supposed to be 2x yearly but maintenance never shows up. My cats have severe asthma ever since we moved here. I took the front off the air intake and it was super dusty and just.. never…”
“I have a finished basement with a 50-pint dehumidifier pumping into my sump basin. That works great but the basement has 4 rooms with doors and while the humidity where the dehumidifier is in reads 42%, the other rooms are hitting upper 50's. I want to put in a dual-duct…”
Several users are experiencing poor airflow and humidity issues in their basements, often related to existing vents or portable AC units. They’ve contacted HVAC professionals for assistance but haven’t found a satisfactory solution, leading to frustration with the current ventilation setup.
SOURCES (11)
“I have a finished basement with a 50-pint dehumidifier pumping into my sump basin. That works great but the basement has 4 rooms with doors and while the humidity where the dehumidifier is in reads 42%, the other rooms are hitting upper 50's. I want…”
“If I put a portable dehumidifier in an HVAC closet that has a closed door, but 3 large grates allowing air to pass into and out of the closet, will the dehumidifier successfully work on my basement? Is there enough airflow into and out of the HVAC closet for all of the basement air to get cycled adequately? Or are three 18"x18" openings with grates not enough to allow adequate airflow? There is enough room in there to allow a foot or two on all sides of the dehumidifier. Thanks for any”
“I have a two zone system with one condenser unit. The basement/main floor is one zone. Upstairs is another zone. No surprise, the upstairs is warmer than downstairs so AC runs often. However, I still feel cold air coming through the lower zone vents and as a result, it’s freezing. is that normal? Is there no way to prevent air from coming through the lower zone vents? submitted by /u/kmathew92 [link] [comments]”
“Hello! Can I close this vent off my furnace box? It is blowing strong air when left open, the basement is partially finished but always cold in the summer. Just got a new system put in, it’s a 2.5 ton in a 1470 sq ft ranch (above grade), not sure if they factor basement area in the calculation but all 3 companies that quoted me said a 2.5 ton. My air will run 5 hours straight or more on a 90+ degree day set at 71-72. Air blowing from vents is 55-57 degrees so it’s blowing cold, just not sure if”
“My basement is cool all summer, why isn't the HVAC's air intake in the basement so I can just run the circulate fan instead of the AC? Is there a lot of context to the question that could change the answer? It's a pretty old cinder block basement. High water table, often humid down there. In the summer the basement keeps cool, while the second floor is sweltering hot. I just want to pump air upstairs... submitted by /u/kingzustin [link] [comments]”
“HVAC equipment is in the basement. We're almost done finishing the rest of the basement. There are only 2 vents, but it gets too cold in the basement while trying to make the rest of the house comfortable. I have a 6in wall vent pipe that opens into a rectangular vent. I can't figure out a nice way to prevent more air flow than closing the vent. The other vent is a rectangular ceiling vent. I was going to get a magnet sheet to close it off in the duct and then close the vent. What's”
“It's a single family that was converted into a duplex. The upstairs is hot at around 76 and the downstairs is freezing at 65. We haven't found a way to change that without cooking the upstairs, which isn't possible in a house that's been set up for people with disabilities and has 2 medically frail people in it. Downstairs ceiling ducts are mostly not insulated and are the same ducts that run to the upstairs floor air-outlet things. The owner and a maintenance guy looked at is an”
“Hi all. First time basement dwellers we have a ground level apartment with a basement. The basement is large, 4 rooms and a common area. In 2 of the rooms there are vents that go out back for airflow, I assume. They have an exit at the backyard hatch. We have another vent in the common area that presumably does the same thing; it routes through the maintenance basement outside. At times, we deal with humidity and a lack of airflow in the basement and thought we could use a portable AC to get som”
“It's a hazy, hot, and humid summer, and I want to use my air conditioner to stay comfortable not cold. Is it possible to have dry indoor air in the summer without setting the temperature too low? Basically, I need to set the temperature on the thermostat to 70°F or less to keep the indoor air comfortably dry. I live in a 1990s development house with a whole house heat pump. A single basic Honeywell programmable digital thermostat controls the system. There's just one zone for the entire”
“Okay so, I live in an apartment complex. There is 0 maintenance done on the system. It's supposed to be 2x yearly but maintenance never shows up. My cats have severe asthma ever since we moved here. I took the front off the air intake and it was super dusty and just.. never cleaned. I had maintenance come in today to replace the filter in it, but that's all they did. So my question is. Can and how do I replace the black foam inside the air intake duct, and is there any way to significant”