Question for home HVAC gurus.

[madlife]

Another question I am seeking advice on or researching out this weekend.   The first floor has heat issues in the back of the house, and part of that is the furnace is in the front, so there is a good distance for the ducts to run to get to the back..   Forced Air BTW

They make inline fans to help push the air faster through the ducts, so it wont cool off as much,  but Ideally would be to only have the fan kick on when the Furnace is on.  My dad said they just have an on/off switch,  no speed settings, so would be be a way to tie that into the signal wire coming from the thermostat?   


I do also plan on wrapping these two ducts in insulation and we are researching some other manufactures of these fans.

[Kavik]

I've never done any HVAC stuff, but I would think a simply relay could be set up so you could draw the signal from the thermostat and power it from a separate line

[madlife]

I've never done any HVAC stuff, but I would think a simply relay could be set up so you could draw the signal from the thermostat and power it from a separate line

Kinda what I was thinking.. If the fan is just on / off,   there should be a way to tie that onto the thermostat which i believe just sends an on/off to the furnace. 

The actual power shouldn't be too hard.  Worse case is the fan has to run 24/7    but that would probably still be cheaper than running a smaller electric heater to keep Chloe's room warm all night.

[hookedontronics]

What about a supplemental heating unit like a ductless split system?  They are relatively cheap, work great, are efficient and are easy for retrofit solutions.  I sell Sanyo (now Panasonic) and could get you a good deal.

A controls contractor (Johnson controls) can most likely wire up a duct fan to come on/off with your furnace.

[SideshowBob]

Semi-related- I am dying to get one of these-
http://www.nest.com/

[Photofixer]

Can you insulate the ducting more to keep the air in the ducts warmer?I don't know much about home furnaces, but I would assume they are similar in many ways. Does the Furnace in question with the "Forced air" have a fan?  I think home furnaces running with gas would have a a built in safety feature since your dealing with natural gas. SO the schematic would say something like,   once forced fan on turn on primary for the fuel solenoid or gas solenoid ect.  Otherwise the unit would melt itself.  and prolly a couple of thermostats  to detect low and high heat points to shut off the primary as well.

If the one fan in question runs at the same voltage as your duct fan, then couldn't you hook it up in parallel with those connections, Then the fan would come on when the heater is running.

I would just wire a new connection for the fan, possibly hook up a rheostat dial or some the like.  tell ya honestly, make sure all the vents have ample room to draw in air, and make sure the ducts are all cleaned  seams are all sealed , no holes  ect...as well just for precaution.

Marty

[madlife]

tell ya honestly, make sure all the vents have ample room to draw in air, and make sure the ducts are all cleaned  seams are all sealed , no holes  ect...as well just for precaution.

Marty

I did a little digging and found some large junk in the intake channel.  I cleaned it out and whoah, holy heat batman....

I need to get some mesh to put under the intake grate.. Its right in the hallway where a lot of people travel...... and previous tenant's kids would play apparently.

[Photofixer]

Woot woot my first home furnace call