Does anyone in the Phoenix, AZ area install supply registers in the floor of the main floor?
447debbie
| Posted in Mechanicals on
I am specifically talking about a house with a walk-out basement.
I’ll be building a new house with a walk-out basement in the low desert. I’d like my supply registers to NOT be in the attic. Seems nobody wants to do that.
Do floor registers really not work efficiently in the low desert?
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
Search and download construction details
Replies
Cold air sink, hot air rises.
If you are building a new house, pay attention to airtightness. Make sure that your new home is tested with a blower door. Aim for a blower door test result of 1 ach50 or better.
Choose good insulation products and install them well. Make sure that your windows have better performance specs that code-minimum windows.
If you follow this advice, your floor registers will work.
If, on the other hand, your house is leaky and poorly insulated, the floor registers may result in comfort complaints.
-- Martin Holladay
With most homes in AZ being built on slabs it's only natural to place the registers in the ceilings in addition the HVAC system is almost always in the attic as well.
Just flip the HVAC design by placing the system in the basement. This way your HVAC installer can place registers in the floors. However this method might be problematic if you have a swamp cooler because IIRC they're usually mounted somewhere on the roof.
Good luck.