Author Topic: Utility Room has the Intake to the Air Conditioner  (Read 1286 times)

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wooferhound

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Utility Room has the Intake to the Air Conditioner
« on: October 25, 2004, 09:22:34 AM »
 I have recently moved to a new house that was not designed to be Energy Efficent. Ther is plenty of insulation in the attic and under the floor but everything else is wasting my energy dollers. I'm trying to figure out ways to help with this problem.


 The pipes from the water heater are not insulated at all with long runs. The output of the tank goes straight into the wall and is not accessable at all for most of it's travels. There is a 15 foot run under the house that I was able to insulate. The Hot pipe was touching the the cold intake that was coming into the house, I was able to fix that.


 The worst part is the Utility room has the Washer, Dryer, Water Heater and the Air Conditioner, with the intake for the whole house in the same room. In the winter thats a Bonus, but in the summer it's terrible. I made the Dryer hose as short as possable and insulated it pretty good. I insulated the hot water hose that's going to the washer. I insulated the 2 feet of pipe that was coming out of the Water Heater into the wall.


 I guess what I want to know is, Is there any other way to keep the heat from coming out of the Washer and Dryer ?


  >- W o o f -<

« Last Edit: October 25, 2004, 09:22:34 AM by (unknown) »

Lucky1

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Re: Utility Room has the Intake to the A/C
« Reply #1 on: October 25, 2004, 09:57:53 AM »
It may be possible to place a damper in the return air duct and cut a new return vent in on the other side of the wall. In summer close the damper so all your return air is from the outside of the utility room. In winter open the damper so you can benifit from the extra heat. Just remember your furnace needs a good return system or you are wasting a lot of heat and a/c. I find it hard to believe that the entire system has only 1 return vent, unless this is a trailor house. As a general rule of thumb you need 1 return vent (6"*12") for every 500 square feet of "unobstructed" space.


I hope this helps,


Lucky1  

« Last Edit: October 25, 2004, 09:57:53 AM by Lucky1 »