Install Double Registers for Efficient Heating Cooling Systems

LESLIE: Norma in Arkansas is dealing with an HVAC situation. How can we help you with it?

NORMA: I want to know which do you think is the best: to put the heat and air up under the floor – where it comes in the floor – or up overhead where it comes down from the ceiling.

TOM: In Arkansas I want to make sure that my house is cooling properly so I’m absolutely going to put the ducts down at the floor level. If you put the ducts up in the ceiling the air is never going to drop down.

NORMA: Mm-hmm, that’s what we thought but the guy, he wanted to put it from overhead. So we don’t want it that way. We want it coming up from the floor.

TOM: Well, are you using one duct system, Norma, for heating and air conditioning? Is that correct?

NORMA: One system. Heat and air system.

TOM: OK, there is a way to install ducts where you can sort of have your cake and eat it too and that is where you drop the duct down the wall with two supply registers; one up high and one down low. And what happens is in the winter time you close the upper register so that the heat comes out the bottom. And in the summer time you close the bottom register so that the cold air comes out the top. And many years ago this is the way all HVAC ducted systems were installed but because, you know, folks are trying to cut costs, it stopped. But it shouldn’t add that much expense to it. It’s just a matter of ducting in an extra register. You’d have twice as many registers on the walls but one would be up high and one would be down low and you would operate them based on season.

NORMA: Well, we’ll talk about that then. (Leslie chuckles)

TOM: Alright, Norma, you do that. That is the solution to your problem. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.