Heating duct question

Keyo77

Can anyone tell me why homes are designed so that the heating/ac floor vents are underneath windows? Does anyone else think this is a most unefficient method? It seems to me it would be much more energy efficient to have the vents come up next to an inside wall rather than an outside wall. In the case of my kitchen, the only vent is right in front of a large sliding glass door. It's not so much of a problem in the winter since the door is sealed fairly well. However, in summer we have to close the vertical blinds in order for any cold air coming from the vent not to be cancelled out by the late afternoon sun. So the choice is to have a sunny room that is hot or a dark room that is cool. Doesn't make sense.

bigMikeB

The reason is that you want the air from the duct to meet with the hot or cold source and mix right there. Outlets on inside walls with returns on outside walls don't work, that had been done years back and they found out it was a huge waste. You want to blanket the source of heat gain or heat loss.

Keyo77

So essentially what you're telling me is that by blanketing the coldest/warmest zones in the house it equalizes the temperature of the whole house? I guess that makes sense. Otherwise, there would be hot or cold spots all over the house. It sure makes a good argument for having really well-sealed windows and doors! Thanks for getting back to me!

bigMikeB

No problem, anytime