Two-storey builds in this stock are routinely short on upstairs return air. Adding return is more effective than adding capacity, and considerably cheaper.

This is most common in homes built since 2000. PEX on slab, 200 amp service, builder-grade equipment that reaches end of life across a whole street at once.

Related

• Ductwork threaded through a house built for floor grates
• One central return for the whole house
• Water heater vents into the chimney and the furnace no longer does
• Silver-wrapped tape on old duct joints
• Additions still on window units
• Uninsulated walls and an oversized condenser
• Furnace runs but the house never warms evenly
• Electrical panel cannot support a modern condenser

Back to Hvac.

---

Written by Jaylan Jones. I Like To Fix earns a referral fee when a call connects to a contractor. See our business-model disclosure.