Here is a little fan that just sits on top of the heating grill. It senses hot air and turns on to add some boost to the air flow in an area that doesn't get enough heat. It is called the Register Booster by Field Controls.
"Energy Efficient Housing -- A Prairie Approach" is the only book I know of which advises against this practice (check out the graphic, keyword "ventilation", title "WHAT IS A CONTROLLED COLD-AIR INLET?"), so I asked the Saskatoon Research Council why. They are not against the practice in genera...
When two apartments share the same heat source and only have one thermometer, someone is always unhappy. If the thermostat is upstairs, the downstairs people are too cold, and if the thermostat is downstairs, the upsatirs people have to open the windows, to keep from getting cooked although thos...
Josie asks: "I am considering getting my ducts professionally cleaned. Can you tell me if it will reduce the dust in my home and whether there are any other benefits to having this done?"This question comes back every year, and although there is still hot debate on the subject, it appears to me ...
The EcoEnergy program of homeowner grants to help retrofit homes has been brought back to life by the federal government in late September of 2011 -- part of the EcoAction initiative. I love this program and the hard workers at NRCan have done a great job of organizing it, explaining it and ma...
I have occasionally been asked my opinion about a particular way to install a ventilation system (HRV - Heat Recovery Ventilator) that is considered acceptable in Ontario: Ducting both the supply and the exhaust runs of an HRV into the return air plenum of a forced air furnace. To understand t...
Radiant Heating and Convection Heating are the two primary types of ways we heat our houses. FORCED AIR HEATINGConvection heating means moving hot air -- what we usually call a forced air heating system simply heats air and moves it around the house through a system of fans and ducts. Forced air...
Few furnace filters, except expensive HEPA filters, do much about trapping or killing germs. Electronic air filters will reduce somewhat the air born germ count because the high electrical voltages do kill some of the bacteria passing through them and probably all that is caught on the plates. ...
So what is a barometric damper? That is the strange swinging plate you find somewhere between your oil furnace or boiler and the chimney. Its function is to allow just the right amount of air into the flue pipe as the gasses go by to let the chimney perform its best.What goes wrong with a barom...
One viewer needs an extra heat grill in the kitchen, which is right above the furnace room, so running ducts is not a problem. The question is, how do you attach to the existing ductwork?You do it with what we call a "boot".You will have to cut a square hole into the large heating duct and the f...
