Hot Air Heating System

[tomlewis007]

We have just moved in a house that has hot air heating system, the top of each door is a window but the window has a 1" gap at the bottom. I assumed this must be for the air to get around the rooms......... but then i remembered that my nan had the same system but none of the rooms had this gap above the doors?

Are they really needed?

thanks

 

[GasMan1965]

They are there for the reason you state.. I was fitting a boiler last week in a house that used to have warm air and it had the same glass with a gap

 

[superdupergasman]

Its called the return air path.....

Filling a room with air and not having this is like filling a bottle of water, once full you cant get any more in......bore a hole in the bottle and you can fill it up all day long.

 

[simond]

Your previous system would have had a gap at the bottom of the doors or a grille. The glazing air gap is fulfilling the same role.

It is considered good practice to have the upper return air path for floor mounted diffusers, and the lower return air path (eg: door cut short) for ceiling mounted diffusers.

This way the warm air passes through the room rather than short circuiting straight back to the heater leaving cold areas.

 

[tomlewis007]

I thought so thanks guys, i guess we will just have to wait and install a wet system......... i dont like it becuase the noise from rooms can easily be heard, tv radio chatting etc.

 

[BigBurner]

I thought so thanks guys, i guess we will just have to wait and install a wet system......... i dont like it becuase the noise from rooms can easily be heard, tv radio chatting etc.

This is the old cheap British way of doing warm air. They have ducts "to" the rooms only and return air back via the door windows vents and common hallway. The USA has two duct systems which is much superior. If you can get return air ducts to each room then keep the warm air. The new Johnson and Starley warm air units are very quiet and efficient and very good indeed giving comfort cooling by venting in summer. The filters are god enough for asthmatics. I would be inclined to keep the warm air system and no radiatiors either.

 

[simond]

A new J&S ECOnomaire, or HiSpec fitted with their System ET modulating controller is much quieter in operation and very subtle.

We have never had complaints of noise transfer through the return air path before. You must live in a very noisy house.

Some UK houses are fitted with individual return air paths, but our meanness in the UK together with the different ground floor construction to most US house designs make it economically difficult to justify.