Return Air Duct relocating

[mcavinee]

Good Morning:
I need to relocate my cold air return plenum which is currently in a closet and not functioning properly. I was told that it should never have been ran to an enclosed closet.

Please see pic and give me some advice.

Could I fabricate where it is currently at and run it to the wall which goes into the hallway with a nice return grate?

Thank you.
Mark

 

[AC Power]

A cold-air intake leading into a closed space is absolutely no good. Your idea of venting it through the wall with a decorative grill is fine.

You likely find you velocity will increase now as the fan isn't being suffocated of fresh air. Too, your heating/cooling efficiency will increase as you won't be pulling in SO much outside fresh air, rather, more recirc air.

 

[mcavinee]

Good Morning. Thank you for your reply. One final advice. The plenum that you see in the pic measures about 14x14. I willmake the box a little wider. So when I head to the wall, should the wall vent be the same size as the one coming off the floor? This is the only return in the whole house. Thanks again.

 

[AC Power]

14x14 is a pretty generous size. You can down size that a bit.....14x10, 12x12, 12x10....those are all ok. Don't go too much smaller than these though (example: 6x6). The more you restrict the return air, the less velocity. If you don't have AC, less velocity isn't a huge issue, but your furnace is going to run longer to satisfy the stat.