McGyver II air conditioning intake, side view. Raising the intake puts hotter air into the a/c, promotes circulation. Also aimed a fan to the highest, hottest, point, to force mixing.
Moves the intake point of the central forced air system from a floor level register in the wall to above waist level. With a curving-ish transition to entrain as much air as possible from above.
Now I need to make it pretty... Yes, I've considered a 2nd intake as high as I can make it. Block one or the other depending on season.
We enjoy the luxury of an air conditioner, even in Oakland. Of course, the duct work is all designed for heating, so the intake is low (for the cold air) and the returns are low on the walls so the hot air rises and mixes.
But when it's hot, it becomes a purposeless conveyer for a layer of cold air no more than .5m (20 inches) deep. Without sucking in the hot air up at the ceiling, and mixing the cooled air with it, the A/C really didn't earn its keep.
I did buy the little clear plastic diverters that attach with magnets to the registers, and aim the flow upward. But this intake, and a clip-on fan to blow waist level air from the bottom into the top of the staircase, were the secrets of real success.
See the view down into this duct:
IMG_0003_3
McGyver II air conditioning intake, side view. Raising the intake puts hotter air into the a/c, promotes circulation. Also aimed a fan to the highest, hottest, point, to force mixing.
Moves the intake point of the central forced air system from a floor level register in the wall to above waist level. With a curving-ish transition to entrain as much air as possible from above.
Now I need to make it pretty... Yes, I've considered a 2nd intake as high as I can make it. Block one or the other depending on season.
We enjoy the luxury of an air conditioner, even in Oakland. Of course, the duct work is all designed for heating, so the intake is low (for the cold air) and the returns are low on the walls so the hot air rises and mixes.
But when it's hot, it becomes a purposeless conveyer for a layer of cold air no more than .5m (20 inches) deep. Without sucking in the hot air up at the ceiling, and mixing the cooled air with it, the A/C really didn't earn its keep.
I did buy the little clear plastic diverters that attach with magnets to the registers, and aim the flow upward. But this intake, and a clip-on fan to blow waist level air from the bottom into the top of the staircase, were the secrets of real success.
See the view down into this duct:
IMG_0003_3