Installing Jumper Ducts to Make Bedrooms More Comfortable

www.drenergysav... | 1-866-607-0191
Climate control and comfort in a home depends on much more than the size, power and efficiency of the heating and cooling system. It depends on proper insulation, air sealing and, above all, it depends on the air duct's distribution and adequate balance between return and supply ducts.
Larry Janesky, founder of Dr. Energy Saver, was recently in Central Florida helping a homeowner with a high cooling bills, and uneven temperatures around the house.
The bedrooms in his house had only supply ducts. The only return ducts were located in the common areas. Using state-of-the-art equipment, Larry demonstrates how the lack of return ducts in this home's bedrooms was increasing the positive pressure in the rooms above acceptable levels, consistently pushing air out of the house, and causing unconditioned, hot and humid air from the outside to be sucked into the common areas of the house. The differences in pressure made the air conditioner work harder, without ever making the whole house comfortable.
When homeowners experience similar problems, they tend to mistakenly believe that they need a bigger, and more powerful heating and cooling system. This is why it is a good idea to call in an energy conservation specialist, before you commit to buying an HVAC upgrade.
In this case, for example, just by adding a return duct to each bedroom, Dr. Energy Saver experts brought the pressure levels in the rooms down to normal. The temperatures are now even around the house, comfort has improved and the old air conditioner now works more efficiently.
If you want to save money, energy and make your home more comfortable, call a Dr. Energy Saver dealer in your area!

[@jeffcarter8160]

Wow! You just solved my daughters room issues. Thanks!

[@carmelom269]

It would been beneficial to the viewer (me) had your video included footage of your technician actually cutting and installing the return “Jumper” vents and ductwork in the ceilings

[@patrickkelleher2309]

Lots of people will hold your hand. Unfortunately most will charge for satisfaction

[@emjavaldez26]

Can u show us how u connect these ducts in the attic .

[@rsl6767]

Your return and Supply are too close together. More transfer between the two especially when heat is on

[@body2man2000]

Return should be lower on wall or floor

[@bjornjoseph]

Bought a new construction. Mb has 3 supplies 0 returns. It's hot, stuffy, muggy. Have to turn thermo down to 68 for room to be cool

[@Subninja2012]

But what is the cost. Wouldn't it be cheaper just to add a vent on the door.

[@hectoracher6119]

+Greg Coleman I\'m not sure but ,if anyone else trying to find out puppy training tricks try Knewreck Puppy Course Guide (just google it ) ? Ive heard some incredible things about it and my neighbor got excellent results with it.

[@johnechols3074]

I do not know about anyone else but our bedroom doors are open the majority of the time anyway. Which is why most of this is not needed

[@pitnpendulum60]

A vent above the doors is a simpler solution. Make it twice the size and cross leaf sound baffling Results in better flow and less energy loss in an unconditioned attic space.

[@raycut8]

If you do these to a new or old house you are going to pay BIG Time

[@gmd1417]

Where did you route the jumper ducts to? I wish you had shown that or at least mentioned how you routed the return air from the jumper ducts to the main return that you show at the 1:40 mark of this video...

[@boneyfreak9197]

Good job. This is such a common situation. Every home I've ever tested has this situation. New, old, add-ons and unfortunately also homes with newly installed/replaced systems. 99% of Homeowners will drive 2-5 extra miles to save 4 cents on gas but don't understand they're paying 25% more a year in heating and cooling their homes, living with nasty air drafts, hot/cold spots and auto opening and suck slamming doors because of this and other issues with their HVAC system. Then you have the goobs that cut an inch off the bottom of the doors or install a bypass right above the doors or even through the door itself and this eliminates any audible privacy in that room. Depending upon the room load(s)you can often properly air balance existing or install dampers and balance the system. I've actually run into situations of gross over supply with 2/3 supply registers in a room area then often I replaced a supply grill with a 1 or 2 way register to get mixing and made the furthest supply run a return duct.

[@teakettle7021]

Been watching HVAC videos all day and that bit about the imbalanced air pressure is genius. Thats the most valuable tip I've heard yet.

[@jldelia]

Rather than putting a return in each bedroom, wouldn't a pass-thru grill above each bedroom door allow for the exchange of enough air to the main return to balance things out?

[@slowsti0535]

That's the question I have

[@codycullum2248]

@@slowsti0535 yes, but keep in mind sound transfer….in a bedroom. A small flex duct jumper will have much less.

[@benreich]

Could this have been solved by creating a door vent grill?

[@docmitchell1]

Yes but noise traveling from the bedroom creates another problem.

[@craigkennedy9968]

Try trimming an inch or so from bottom of door

[@dianaslater2869]

@@craigkennedy9968 Doesn't work in my house.

[@danielstewart2251]

Hey Doc, and thanks for the video. I'm in south Florida. The only home I saw w return ducts in rooms was in SC. Now I understand the return ducts in the attic; but how did you attach the 3 new return ducts to the return plenum under the unit in the video? Did you go down the inside of a wall and go through the side of the plenum under the unit where it draws the air from?

[@ericlogos9568]

Now when you parents smoke weed in their bedroom , you can Cath a buzz in you own room.

[@besttrick2]

Glad you learned something from this video LOL

[@briangc1972]

As an HVAC professional who is a Building Performance Analyst, I can tell you that jumper ducts are a very expensive solution to a simple problem. The overlooked, and very obvious problem is that the jumper ducts are always routed through the attic. Every attic is a solar heat collector, a solar oven. The heat in the attic will heat the jumper ducts (regardless of R rating) and will passively heat the home. I have carefully measured the heat gain during the summer and found that a 4˚F gain is a minimum and often I measure an 8˚F gain. All day long, the heat enters the home via convection air circulation when the A/C is off and by forced air when the A/C is on. As the A/C air enters the room, the equal amount of air is forced through the jumper ducts and is passively hearted by the attic. That hotter than room temperature air is now spreading through the main hallway and gives a false hot reading to the thermostat and that hot air is drawn into the return duct. The result is the return air is now a few degrees warmer from the jumper ducts, which means the supply air is also a few degrees warmer. Our forefathers knew this 200 years ago. Many homes built 150 years ago had transfer air openings above the doorway of each room. That feature in a home was discontinued when central forced air heat and cooling became more common in new home construction.

[@MAGAMAN]

Newer homes have vents through the walls above the doors, which allows more airflow, but they also increase noise transmission.

[@akaLuptonPittman]

Thanks for this reply Brian… genuine service and common sense intelligence seem to still exist. That being said sir, I have an old two story wood frame (balloon I believe) house that was built back in 1921 and could really use some advice regarding a possible mild extension of the supplied central AC to the relatively small second floor. Condenser/handler combined outside unit that feeds and returns directly into the under crawl space. Rooms needed cooling are directly above, sharing an outside wall. My question is if branching off the proximal aspect of the large supply ducting as it immediately departs the unit outside would allow the “physics” of air movement to and fro, to be relatively plausible? I should add that the returns are pretty substantial and only a short distance down an open stairwell. My idea is to construct an exterior cover of some sorts to conceal the ducting as it travels upwards. This inside corner of the house is shielded from direct sunlight and requires only a 10’ max run. From there I’m considering the wall breach to be at floor level… either a direct horizontal feed or put extra work into breaching the floor void space and have supply vents that match downstairs. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you

[@964mula]

When we close our bedrooms and restroom , there is a big gap under the door . Would that serve the same purpose ? Now I’m thinking I need to keep doors open . I always kept them closed thinking it would keep the cool in .

[@briangc1972]

@@964mula Closing the doors blocks air flow. Open doors or install relief vents in the wall above the doors (like they did 100 years ago) The gap under the door lets ou the coolest air in the room and traps the hottest air in the room. Relief vents let the hot air out.

[@jph77]

But return air is still pulled from under the door when it's closed. Usually a couple inches or more on new homes.

[@yeltsin6817]

I think if they got of half their crap that would relieve some air flow issues.

[@FoolyLiving]

I've never in my life seen a return duct in a room. One way only in all the rooms, and one big intake in the common area.

[@jermcee]

Most of the air actually returns underneath the door. You can feel it if you stand outside your door without shoes.

[@OMGAnotherday]

✌️Yeah positive pressure escapes wherever it can!

[@emjavaldez26]

Can u show us on video how to connect these jumper vents in the attic n so on

[@againstallodds404]

Great idea I was looking for that.

[@xgtownboy]

I need to do this project in my house. Bedroom heat up quite a bit.

[@HerminiePA]

@@Chugwater_Cowboy If there are no return lines, that is the same as leaving a window to the outside slightly open all the time.

[@marcelgaddis9319]

easier/cheaper fix would be to put a vent size hole through the wall, block top/bottom and a vent cover both sides. basically direct venting through the wall, for a 2 story you could do a through the floor/ceiling as a alternative. Saves you the cost and time of running new returns

[@craigkennedy9968]

@Daniel Day but, it has a free air return under the unit ... no return ducts in the attic. And Jumper Ducts go from a grill on one side of a wall to a grill on the other side of a wall to relieve pressure in a room. Generally to prevent doors from slamming shut when the unit is running. And that air pressure difference is miniscule ! No honest contractor would take your money to fix what is not a problem !

[@whitneyjdodson]

Why don’t installers use return ducts? I do not see them in any homes. Why doesn’t the code enforce this?

[@Joni-qf2it]

Where where you when I had my house for 18 years with only one return only in living room.

[@Guillotines_For_Globalists]

I have seen some homes, especially in Florida, with vent grates added to the door towards the bottom. Serves as a pass through for when the door is shut. Not ideal but a simple solution. Or as someone else said, cut an inch off of the bottom of the door. Probably a more private solution, but either method will serve the same purpose.

[@franny5295]

@Tom Garbo I was actually not taught that but I probably should have. I'll teach my boy. You might have saved a life...

[@ZteveW]

My home has return and supply ducts all in the ceiling just like the design in your video. I'm not an HVAC guy but doesn't that just suck the conditioned air back into the unit? For example, in the winter when we need the warm air lower, the return is sucking it up before the warm air has a chance to move lower into our rooms... in the summer, visa versa - the cool air never gets a chance to condition the lower parts of the rooms as it is sucked up into the return. I know you'll probably say use a ceiling fan but it's not efficient. Our unit runs constantly.

[@mangravy2000]

+Zteve W - Running constantly can be many things but I'd check the attic ductwork and insulating it better.

[@bluebellharleyrider]

"sucking it up before the warm air has a chance to move lover into our rooms... in the summer, visa versa - the cool air never gets a chance to condition the lower parts of the rooms as it is sucked up into the return" Air does not move like you described. A good example would be light a match and blow it out. Yep that was easy. Now light another one and suck your breath in. It's not as easy and almost impossible. Another example would be concentric duct kits that you see in commercial applications. The supply blow out the sides and the return is in the middle.

[@ZteveW]

I didn't have a match but that also works with a lighter. You're a genius. I guess that's why YOU have a channel and I don't?:-)) Thanks.

[@koreymayo8884]

You should never have your supply air vent pointing right at your return air vent like you showed in 1 of the bedrooms toward the end!

[@b0b0-]

Also a basic concept is: If supply duct is on ceiling, return duct is near floor. Vice versa for other way. Very basic HVAC design.

[@tdelrio]

Are those returns ducted to anything?

[@pedrocastano6410]

Those jumper ducts are just to depressurize the rooms

[@ynot6781]

Ok , let's start off with the inferior duct system in the home . The supplies are mounted incorrectly in the middle of the room . Supply air is to be on the load walls , the outside unconditioned walls . The return air should yes be in each room however they should be high low installed in the walls and tied directly into the proper sized return air duct . In the summer you would open the upper returns to pull the hot air off the ceiling and the cool air up off the floor into the living space . In the winter the reverse , close the top return grill which allows you to now pull the cold air off the floor and the hot air you just spent money heating off the ceiling and into the living space . The return in the bedroom is to close to the supply , optimum would be the supply at window and return by the door . Which he could've done , he could've used the existing supply hole for the return and cut a proper supply in the ceiling close to the outside wall . Yep it's more money but more efficient . Since this is a cheep fix video , the home owner can go by some 14 by 8 grills at home depot , and cut transfer grills above their doorway trim . Simply cut a hole through the drywall and mount a grill on both sides , now the air can be transferred into the hallway where the central return is . If you have four bedrooms it's going to take 8 grills , some screws....supplied with grill , a philips screwdriver , drywall saw , about 80 bucks and two hours of your time and basically accomplish the exact same thing . Cheeper yet is undercut the doors

[@allclearduct]

Wouldn't it just be more efficient to run a return to each room excluding baths and kitchen. Here, in Arizona, NO builders run returns to rooms. Almost always there will be one return in the hall. Those "jumper vents" run into the attic which get superheated, as soon as the A/C comes on that hot air comes INTO the living space. It's probably the least efficient system imaginable. Pathetic.

[@CampDeclan]

Video title does not seem to match video content. Otherwise... good video. Thank you.

[@petem6503]

Standard design for average room is 3/4" undercut door; that's enough to give decent circulation. 5 Pascals is only 0.02", barely detectable.

[@JonathonNeville]

I like your simple solution - and I like that you save people with undercut doors from thinking they need to add more ducts when they don't. Gaps under doors is however not ideal for sound transfer. is there a way to block sound but allow return air to flow? (Sound transfer would also happen, to a lesser extent, thru ducts.)

[@dogface6040]

@@JonathonNeville Look up "SCIF" design. In general, doors always have some gap at the bottom, and in noise suppression the first 1/8" of gap allows about 50+% of noise transmission, so (in general) you need specialized door design depending on how much transmission loss you require. Don't forget that sound will also go through doors and walls. In offices, often the wall structure extends only a couple inches above the ceiling, allowing crosstalk noise. As soon as you say the magic words "noise control" you buy into a buncha considerations. Most residential apps don't warrant such concern. However, an air transfer duct across a wall, grilles in the adjacent ceilings, at least two elbows, and consider using ductboard (allows noise to escape sideways, out of the duct, so it doesn't go room to room), all provide attenuation. Few consider it worth doing. In many residential structures, such a pathway doesn't exist. That's why master bedrooms are at the other end of the house from the kids.

[@JonathonNeville]

​@@dogface6040 Thanks. SCIF - Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities - pronounced "skiff", used for secure conversations about sensitive information. Cool. I googled: scif sound residential ducts OR airflow. A couple promising results (not yet opened): -- soundproofcow.com/soundproofing-101/how-to-soundproof-a-home-2/how-to-soundproof-hvac-systems/ -- cambridgesound.com/dynasoundpro-sound-masking/ I also wondered if the technology behind noise-cancelling headphones could be applicable. wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_noise_control mentions the technology is used in cars to reduce road noise, but makes no mention of use in houses / offices or buildings of any type. I'll update later.

[@dogface6040]

@@JonathonNeville It's been a decade since I updated on noise cancelling. The problem was always that Ncan depends on generating a counter-wave to the sound, and making the receiving ear the point of coincidence of the two waves. Move your head, and the ear no longer catches the cancellation effect. I could use Ncan in my car, so maybe I'll check it out!

[@garyslaughterback6366]

got news for you.a jumper duct is from one room to the next main room.a return like he was showing goes all the way to the return plenum.big difference

[@valerief1231]

Gary Slaughterback well that answers that. It appeared that he installed vents in the ceiling with no duct work to contain the conditioned air. I still don't see the benefit of the air traveling thru a hot attic, over 130°f back to the return. Seems as if it would cause more labor to the unit itself.

[@MrTrailerman2]

@@valerief1231 if the duct is well insulated the return air will be close to ambient temperature of the room returning back to the air handler.

[@valerief1231]

David Ashabranner thats good to know, Thanks!

[@MrTrailerman2]

@@valerief1231 your actual return air going from each room going back to the furnace/ air handler is and should be isolated and only pulling conditioned air from the living space.. this is why it so critical that all duct work whether it be in an attic or crawl space must be sealed and insulated in order to only recycle the indoor ambient for the best indoor air quality.

[@vikingson9000]

@@MrTrailerman2 Can I ask what you recommend when the only return you have is at the bottom of the air handler ?

[@fizbinsfire]

Personally i install these using a left handed pipe wrench and a 3oz...no...3.5 oz skyhook to hold those air hinges up while i screw it in. Gets the job done mighty fast and gives me time to drink a 6 pack and think of dumbshit to say on youtube

[@331whf9]

U didn't show the jumper ducts being installed at all....so no it wasn't helpful.....u like the part where he was about to mention the fact that the space underneath the door is meant for return....but he didnt.......bhaha...hvac guys....what a bunch of crooks

[@baminibaum1301]

Install a vent in the lower part of the door.

[@Executiveinvestments-]

@@dylanw8823 not any more than is what is coming out of a duct. But nice talk kid.

[@687805]

This may be reaching. But could there be a link between positive pressure in a bedroom and ear, nose and throat problems, or sinus pressure? I would greatly appreciate feedback on this. Thanks. Maybe sucking is more important than blowing.?

[@valerief1231]

#1Lazer gooood question!

[@davidh.morganthall7466]

Absolutely IMO! We are staying with family while remodeling our house. NO RETURNS in bedrooms here and we need to leave the door partially open at night or the room gets too hot and the pressure is so high that it will shut the door if not open far enough. We both have allergies and I have COPD. Unbearable unless door is open. And we are in NV so the air is very dry making things worse. The new house has transfer ducts!

[@MrMed-hl2fq]

thanks - never knew that before. I have 2 returns in a 6 room house.. guess i'm out of balance too...

[@ynot6781]

Basic rule of thumb , you want to return as much as you supply For 10 supplies , you want 10 returns .

[@justintime8176]

Im installing a concealed duct mini split system in my attic. Its labeled as a low static unit. Is there a sizing formula for supplies to returns per room?

[@grantdonahue8417]

Surely 5 pascals is such a negiable gradiant it could be explained by the downward pressure of a ceiling fan, yes?

[@AlexanderThickstunsChannel]

No, a ceiling fan is certainly not powerful enough to change the pressure below it by 5 pascals.

[@liddell2385]

Since the name of the video is “jumper ducts” I hope there is ductwork attached to these return grilles to allow the air to transfer from the bedroom space to the corridor space rather than the air going directly to the attic...I would not install a ceiling return with an opening directly to the attic. You’d be cooling the attic and you could Also introduce humidity issues. Are the return grilles ducted to transfer return air from space to space?

[@nikolasbbq]

They are NOT returning into the attic. That would be STUPID.

[@yacineelyas8756]

The easiest and cheapest way to do the job is to install transfer air grille on the 2 bedroom's doors. Return air escaping from there will be directed to the filter in main return duck.

[@craigkennedy9968]

No, the cheapest and easiest is to cut the bottom of the door to allow for air to pass under it !

[@MyGoogleYoutube]

Why not discuss the gap under the bedroom door? Wouldn't it be sufficient to have an inch gap?

[@RandomNumber141]

Who wants a full inch gap under the door?

[@MyGoogleYoutube]

@@RandomNumber141 Maybe 3/4?

[@jimmypautz]

That house is a mess.

[@dukeofdarkside82]

That was super informative! I'm glad I took the time to watch. I feel that I learned a thing or 2. Thanks for the info!

[@jimbola77]

thank you for sharing excellent presentation!!!!!

[@jamesdarnell8632]

I have a lot of pressure after I eat chips and Salsa.

[@maximusextreme3725]

Stop spending all your pascals on Mexican food.

[@Bigshoots86]

This video makes it looks like you broke into a house and just filmed a video in it

[@markadams7328]

Glad they really cleaned up and straightened up the inside before you made the video?!! :-0

[@Threlgar]

I assume the 'jumper duct' connects thru the attic in some way back to the return????

[@craigkennedy9968]

Actually, a jumper duct only goes from one side of a wall to another. This video is a scam. Jumper ducts are used to relieve pressure on rooms with either a poorly designed duct system or in a commercial building where airtight doors prevent proper airflow, or have insufficient returns to a section that has an airtight door isolating it. This video implies individual room returns, but the closet unit clearly has no room to tie those ducts into it. The minute pressure difference that he tells you his manometer is reading equals something like .02 inches water column. No honest contractor will take your money to waste his time dealing with such a miniscule improvement. Also, what he isn't saying is that those ducts going into your attic will have some heat gain, decreasing the performance of your system, and increasing your energy consumption ($$$), ever si slightly, but more of a difference than his fix for that (qoute)issue(unqoute).

[@Dimebag4510]

Would an alternative method to dealing with ductwork , and all of that be putting return vent covers in the bottom of each door front and back making air passage from room to room?

[@littleeddie133]

Makes sense to me, I wish someone would post an answer

[@rameshchadrapatel3448]

There are retrofit vent to add under door.

[@voltarsystems]

This is considered old school now. But this really does work.

[@thecloneguyz]

Why not just remove the return air to the far side of the house so it pulls the hot air all the way across the house?????

[@rikjays]

If the main air return was large enough to support the btu's of the heating and cooling system then adding individual return system is not the cheapest, most cost effective option. Simply adding 'air passthrough" vents on the doors would have done the same job..de-pressurizing the rooms and stabilizing the air circulation. I know because I have done this in my own home..with excellent results at a fraction of the cost of installing new return ducts to each room.

[@cdyoung976]

That's a good point. Kind of like where in mobile homes the doors are 2" or so off of the floors to allow circulation underneath them.

[@lanesairconditioning]

This is the best explanation I've seen of this problem. Great job! . To the last poster about room stratification. The draw from the return will draw from the immediate area around the grille. The supply will push the air (throw) to the other side of the room. The result will be a good mix in the room. It actually breaks the stratification.

[@fredg5079]

lanesairconditioning .

[@lanesairconditioning]

@Bob Smithereens generally, any given room, from the ceiling to the floor will have "stratification of temperature," when the system is idle or off. When a system is designed well, with proper grille placement, the stratification is broken and the air in the room will get mixed well allowing for a higher degree of comfort. Some grilles may not offer a good mixing of interior air because of poor velocity.

[@santiagodraco]

What is a normal cost for adding a return like one of the ones you ran to the bedroom? Thinking of adding one so curious.

[@اغانيالزمنالجميل-ع6ز]

Probably 300$

[@1dandy49]

where did you tie the jumper ducts into? Was it the main return duct? (like the one you showed in the hallway)? thanks for the video.

[@craigkennedy9968]

Yes, Excellent question ! This scam video doesn't account for that

[@ArticWolf24]

Thank you for this video. It really did teach me a lot, now its time to redesign my furnace ducting. This video was very informative.

[@taunter2]

So is that return duct venting directly into the attic or is it truly returning the air to the AHU?

[@vikingson9000]

taunter2 thats what I want to know also ? but I guess he isn't going to tell all his tricks?

[@jt5747]

@@vikingson9000 I think it's just a duct going from one room, behind a door, to the hallway where the return is located so the pressure has a way to balance. It's like having a door open, even when the room door is closed. It's another path for the air to go, to get back to the return.

[@vikingson9000]

@@jt5747 OK that makes sense then .Thank you for clearing that up for me, much appreciated !

[@craigkennedy9968]

@@jt5747 jumper ducts go from a grill on one side of a wall to a grill on the other side to relieve pressure and keep doors from slamming closed when the unit is running Video is a scam

[@craigkennedy9968]

@@vikingson9000 believing this video is the trick Jumper ducts go from a grill on one side of a wall to a grill on the other to prevent doors from slamming shut when the unit is running But ducts in the attic can have heat gain, especially in Florida !

[@therealmillerman]

You should really have a hi and low return. Due to the fact that cold air is heavier than hot air and you want the supply and return to work together in circulating the air properly.

[@MrStyle2]

therealmillerman this property is in Florida. I think they are more concerned about returning hot ceiling air to be air conditioned than cold air on the floor

[@rodgraff1782]

The proper term is transfer grilles. What comes in must be able to get out, otherwise there is no movement. Be it transfer grilles or under cut odors. Doesn’t matter. Supplies should be directed toward the areas of greatest heat loss, such as windows. Returns should be positioned to return the air after the supply air properly mixes with the air in the conditioned space.

[@jayt717]

Can you please name all the types of climates again?

[@stanbarrington9698]

LOL,you talkin about the Hawaiian Islands?

[@edibleexpressions9899]

Yeah good stuff but a vented door would be way cheaper and work BIG time overkill

[@JonathonNeville]

I like your simple solution - although a vent in the door sounds ugly to me - but is there a way to allow return air to flow while blocking sound? (Sound transfer would also happen, to a lesser extent, thru ducts.)

[@JonathonNeville]

I like your simple solution - although a vent in the door sounds ugly to me - but is there a way to allow return air to flow while blocking sound? (Sound transfer would also happen, to a lesser extent, thru ducts.)

[@trinkladd]

Question. Would the return suck the cool air flowing from the vent? Curious trying to design ductwork for my house.

[@CoroaEntertainment]

With homes without properly placed return vents, simply removing/cutting off about 1/2" to 1" from the bottom of the door for each "problem" room (so there's more space between the bottom of the door and wood floor/carpet) should be enough. Example, for a 32" wide door you would have an extra 16 to 32 square inches of space/ventilation to work with. It's also a lot quicker (and cheaper) than cutting a hole in the ceiling of each room to install a jumper duct. The main problem with ceiling jumper ducts, is when it's cold outside. A ceiling jumper duct would allow the heat from the furnace (that is used to keep that particular room warm) to simply exit out of the room and eventually out through the roof vents (when the furnace is running), and cold from the attic to easily enter into each room (when the furnace is off). Not a good thing if your city/state gets cold during the winter season. It would also increase the yearly costs of heating your home. In Canada and Europe, home builders are staring to put return vents at both the top and bottom (on the wall) of rooms/living spaces. Doing so allows for better and more efficient return air flow adjustments during the summer and winter months. Example, during winter/cold months, the top vent would be closed (bottom vent open) to help keep warm air in the room (remember, warm air rises).... and during summer months, the top vent would be opened (bottom vent closed) to help keep the room cooler in the summer. If the home you live in has a wall mounted vent (top or bottom), you might be able to add the opposite vent as well (as long as the wall cavity doesn't have a horizontal block of wood in that space), thus allowing you to adjust return airflow to help make your home more efficient during the summer and winter seasons.

[@badova123]

Do the ew returns have filters?

[@andream3088]

I have just started the home buying process and now i know what to look for as a huge positive. For the life of me i could never figure this exact problem out and it has happened in all the houses and apartments i have rented. My only question is, by not having the return air ducts in each room does this help or hurt your electricity bill? Here in Texas our summer bills can get close to 200.00 a month. Also, on a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom home, how much does something like this cost to have installed in ones home? Just a ballpark like thousands to 10 thousands or hundreds to thousands? Thank you so much for teaching me something.

[@charlespaine987]

Andrea M A properly installed return air system will save money . Recirculated air means you don’t throw away the energy you have “conditioned the the air with” . When the air doesn’t return it must then be replaced with outside air usually either warmer wetter or colder air “seasonally” that requires additional energy to cool or warm to be comfortable .

[@stevo7350]

I was thinking about this which led me to your video. Question though! Do the added return vents need a filter???? The main return in the middle of the hallway has a filter so is that what I need to do?

[@pgminter]

stevo7350 I was wondering the same thing.

[@craigkennedy9968]

There are two options, filter grills in each return, or a whole house filter at the unit... but ... that is only being said because this misleading scam video implies he is referring to individual room returns, but ...did you did catch on to this scam video as he showed the unit with the free air return in a closet, and no way to attach ducts to it. See where I am going now?

[@djc213]

He forgot to connect his new returns to main return back to the air handler. Also, it looks like when warming the room, the heated air would make the short trip from the ceiling register to the return, thereby lowering heating efficiency.

[@davidh.morganthall7466]

The video is obviously shortened, but transfer / jumper ducts do NOT go back to the main return. They simply go from the rooms into the common area. Mine go to a central box in the hallway where there is also a filter to stop any dust from being transferred.

[@franksquires8151]

Its Fla...prob dont heat much air!

[@docmitchell1]

The gap under the bedroom door is sufficient relative to the floor covering. If the supply to the room is larger than the gap then it may not be enough. If there is carpet (shag), then the gap is too small. Even if the gap is big enough at the time of construction, be aware that somebody might add a thick floor covering years down the road.

[@tracienewham1987]

Can i ask you a question i live in a home that has floor vents central heat and air paid out the ying yang for it it is always hot like 89 in summer and constantly getting air fixed but i do have vents in every room at top of house but we closed them off because when open it is so hot because of ten roof and attic was wondering if we should open them or what is the purpose of them when there has never been anything but floor air there was a fireplace when i was first buying but i had it removed so i just figured it was for them

[@SherrillWoodsJr]

All I can do is share my experience. We upgraded our system and added a game room. We had plenty of return (conditioned air) but the room was 2-3 degrees warmer. We added a "jumper duct" and the room runs about 1 degree cooler than the main room in house. Small cost for amazing result. We did the same in the two bedrooms on West side of house with similar results. Main concern of our AC guy was keeping the supply and return air volume balanced to the HVAC system.

[@ynot6781]

Your ac guy didn't do a load value on your home , typically they don't have the knowledge . Proper load valuation needs some data . Values of the windows , insulation , basically the entire homes r value and cfm per room adjusting every supply as per requirement with the proper sized return . Optimum is high low returns in all rooms which makes it far more comfortable as well as more economical High returns in vaulted ceilings as well

[@Brad.W]

@@ynot6781 Yeah but something like that is out of the question for those of us in manufactured or mobile homes that have zero attic space to run ceiling ducts and vents.

[@gearhead0800]

Hey Larry, Good point but not entirely accurate. I am an HVAC&R guy as a chief engineer in a commercial office bldg. but I am speaking right now regarding the split system for the second floor of our home. True balancing does suffer for the typical residential stuff however, the so called crack method has long been a recognized design strategy. All our bedroom doors are cut approx. 5/8 inch short so that about 19 sq/in. are available for a very real return path to the ceiling register in the hall. Even with the doors closed a definite current is felt from under the door to the lower pressure in the hall. In your vid I am not sure how the air returns to the air handler thru these open registers? Is return flex removed from the return plenum so that the attic becomes the return plenum or are the resisters positively ducted to the return of the A.H. ?

[@freddiewright8270]

gearhead0800 IJS hi

[@alcopower5710]

Freddie Wright a

[@troy3456789]

Even with the opening under the door, the pressure can be felt when slowly closing the door with the system on. A better plan is to put filtered returns in those rooms - even small ones would help.

[@nrfa6229]

Where does the return warm air go? Just into the attic, which will in time cause a huge issues of moisture rot, ice damming, mold and so on? Just cutting holes and adding a vent to make a return, doesn’t make it work like it should. To me. This video just shows returns not connected to the furnace, which could cause some serious damage in people’s attics.

[@rmhutchins7]

I presume the video does not show return ducts back to the air conditioner because they want you to hire THEM to install the vents.

[@ivandiaz86]

No one ever mentions how everyone fails to install a duct for fresh air or mixed air box on return side for minimum 10 percent outside air.

[@charlespaine987]

Such “mixing boxes “ are required by building codes in commercial installations or extremely well sealed homes. Most homes have too much leakage to need them.

[@ChuckMcC]

Put a through vent in the wall above each door.

[@brendathompson7906]

That is what I'm doing. Did it work for you ?

[@anaaguilar3304]

Can you just come to my house and fix my room? I've been up for since 4am because my room is so hot.

[@pablopizzini5964]

I'll do it for you....

[@anaaguilar3304]

@@pablopizzini5964 what's funny is that I posted this 2 years ago and my room is still hot. Haha

[@pablopizzini5964]

@@anaaguilar3304 No way....nobody cares for you?

[@74dartman13]

It always amazes me how poorly heating and a/c sytems are designed. I had a duct cleaning business for many years and I've seen it all...crazy! I have an old house with 2 upstairs bedrooms. Each has a supply vent, but there's only one small return on the floor in one of the bedrooms. Talk about hot in the summer! Gonna install a return higher on the wall of each bedroom. Hope it helps!

[@kens97sto171]

Trim the bottom of the doors off about 2 inches. Especially with the air source at the ceiling. Mobile homes do it this way to eliminate need of a return system. Also mini split systems if your replacing a system is a good solution. Heating and cooling the air directly in the room rather than moving cooled or heated air around through ductwork.

[@valerief1231]

I like the mini-split system idea, I think o need to research that. Our home is super weird with the HVAC system. It's horrible, and we need to do something besides cut holes in the ceiling. Thanks for the idea!

[@plantbasedprepper]

How is it a return if it just releases the hot air into the attic and the ac unit sucks the air from the common room? Why not just open a window then? I have the same problem in my house and looking for a solution. My rooms are sealed shut with pressure. Can I just crack a window or does the excess air have to go back to the ac unit?

[@videoshomepage]

You can measure the pressure instantly? Great video.

[@3beltwesty]

1:04 Almond Carrier refrigerator? Lol . At first sight i said thats my 1970s Almond Sears refrigerator with a Carrier refrigerator magnet!

[@supaman881]

The video is labeled installing jumper ducts but no one watched him "Install" jumper ducts. The only thing they saw was a register vent cut into the ceiling. For the ones that don't know, He simply cut roughly a 10x10 register inside the bedroom and a 10x10 register in the hallway and conected the two with duct work to allow the Main return in the house to pull air out of those rooms while the doors were closed. The same thing can be achieved by cutting about 1 1/2 inches off the bottom of the door, Cutting a fancy register in the bottom of the door or above the door. To test this, turn on your Airhandler and crack your bedroom door, hold your hand up to the crack and feel the pressure of the air being drawn. The above methods does the same with the door closed. I hope my comment helped someone understand this poorely made video that left some people scratching their head.

[@jamesskelton6744]

just cut 1 inch of the bottom of the door and stop ripping people off..

[@spacecadet_woodworks]

My bedroom is significantly warmer than the rest of my house. I’m putting a jumper duct above the door to even out the pressure in the room, but I was thinking about also adding another jumper on the wall between the bedroom and the living room. My thought is that since this is the coldest area of the house it will let cold air in from the living room. Is this a dumb idea? I haven’t seen anything to indicate it would work like I’m thinking, but for some reason it makes sense to me.

[@AKA77755]

I know this might sound impractical and out there in left field but couldn't you just put vents in the doors or louvered register vents as an alternative knowing this would prevent rooms from breathing individually but would still let the system flow and function easier without big pressure fluctuations

[@peterruffo8793]

Easily done on a Ranch house. Problem being when you install in an older home (Cape Cod) you cant always do that type of return. So you can only get returns in certain locations.

[@antoniiocaluso1071]

would more-simply adding an over-door transfer duct w/2-vertical grilles, have been sufficient?? I always have framed the walls that way. seems to work?

[@ericwsmith7722]

people are stupid with forced hot air heating ( and cooling for that matter) "we have a room that is to cold" NO YOU DON,T ! you have the rest of the house too warm, close the dampers on the vents to those rooms till the "cold room " heats up , Not every home HVAC is 100% balanced

[@666Eidolon666]

In theory this might work, but it really doesn't work all that effectively. The problem with closing dampers is that most systems the vent pipes are not sealed, and they will just leak air (and a lot of it) out the joints so you still end up with the rest of the house getting a lot of the heat/cooling through the floors and walls, still an unbalanced system. In this case closing dampers it doesn't really help. If the vents are sealed and the ductwork is properly sized for full flow, shutting those dampers will change the design flow through the air handler giving an improper temperature rise across the heat exchanger, which is not good for the heat exchanger (gets too hot), and can cause issues when the air isn't moving fast enough to scrub the cold air off of the a/c coil. There are many other factors that may cause hot cold rooms other than the heating/cooling systems as well; like a room over a poorly insulated carport or a room that faces the sun most of the day. In fact I had a house just like that with both scenarios, and closing the dampers for better balance didn't help at all. I sure as heck am not stupid, so saying that isn't really a fair statement.

[@ericwsmith7722]

@@666Eidolon666 oh, ohhhh,,, just install and design the system properly ,,, yea that would work also , SLIGHTLY harder hacking out wall channels ( the world is not full of single story ranches houses you know ) and changing all the duct work, about $15,000 you think ? then closing a few ducts

[@666Eidolon666]

@@ericwsmith7722 My point in all this is that your method of closing ducts in a lot of cases makes no difference; I know, I've tried this method on my own two story home with the issues you mentioned in your first comment (I'm not sure where the comment on the world being full of ranchers comes from, I certainly never said that). Closing ducts can also be detrimental to the equipment. Anyways, if I still have a room that's too cold in the winter and one that's too warm in the summer after trying your method, does this make me stupid? Even a perfectly balanced system can have cold/warm rooms depending on issues that I mentioned.

[@packrattogo]

The title is a bit misleading, as it suggests the video will be about jumper ducts. The video does offer a good explanation of why you want to balance supply & return in bedrooms (or any other space likely to be occasionally isolated by a closed door). But the term "jumper duct" is literally only mentioned in the final seconds of the 7-1/2 minute video, without no explanation whatsoever. We see a return grille installed, as well as a local plenum. But no mention or image of where the ductwork will go. "Jumper ducts" and "return ducts" are two different things. Using jumper ducts is typically far easier than actually installing return ductwork to each room. But there are important design considerations for jumper ducts to perform well...location, sizing, room-to-room noise mitigation. None of these were discussed or mentioned. This would be an excellent video if it were entitled "The importance of balancing supply and return in bedrooms." But unfortunately, it's a bad video about jumper ducts.

[@patrickkelleher2309]

The bedroom is HIGHER pressure. Not necessarily pushing air out windows but worse potentially depriving the blower. You know this, you and jumper ducts DO work

[@dunkcards7901]

I have a downstairs a/c and upstairs a/c. Bought my home and didnt know the gas furnace only supplies heat to the downstairs (all 4 bedrooms are upstairs. So me and my wifes room, 2 boys rooms, and a newborn girls room ALL have no heat upstairs! Wish the inspector told me this before buying my house!!!!) So im wondering if my gas furnace can supply heat to my upstairs ducts that are already in place for the a/c on top of supplying heat to the downstairs. Furnace is in the basememt. The ducts are 2 seperate systems. Downstairs from floor. Upstairs vents are overhead. Wondering if i can tie the upstairs into the downstairs and make 1 system. My downstairs gets smoldering hot and my upstairs is freeeeeezing in winter.

[@machinemanbaltimore]

I'm glad to see the home owner cleaned up the place before the video!

[@venkatstance4103]

So you Installed a return Vent behind a Ceiling Fan? 😀 Turn on the Fan, then close the Room Door, Turn on AC, after few minutes, without too much compromising by opening the Room door for too long, check the pressure difference and post it here. That’s a real Test.

[@HsingSun]

Is it a good idea if I locate Love-Seat blocking the return grill? Unfortunately, my living room is just a regular size. What can I do, just move the love-seat 6" away from the return-grill?

[@oldandy1645]

Seems to make sense but still looks like the cool air would blow right back into the extra duct. Our pre-fab came with these new ducts and, based on what is claimed to be good, good for us!

[@sokol0104]

One Pascal is 0.000145 psi, which is negligible for any of the “pressurization” issues described.

[@amerlin388]

I wonder how effective it would be if you could plan an upper and lower return vent in a room, one to be closed/blocked and the other open, swapping on a seasonal basis.

[@koreymayo8884]

That would be very effective for removing warm air in summer from the ceiling and removing cold air from the floor in winter, but if you live somewhere that uses both AC and heat both about 50/50 I would focus more on removing heat from each room because electronics and people already heat up each room.

[@DazGeary]

What is the point of a HVAC if you send your ceiling inlet directly to a ceiling outlet. Most cost effective DIY would be to trim 1/2" off the bootom of the bedroom doors or a door vent. Also, where do your new returns (jumper ducts) go to?

[@b0b0-]

Not good advice. A basic concept is: If supply duct is on ceiling, return duct is near floor. Vice versa for other way. Very basic HVAC design.

[@aliikane]

My question is: Wouldn't the air return that is so close to the supply vent inhibit the air from circulating through the room and just pull the air directly from supply vent? Seems like to work more effectively that the new return would have to be the furthest from the supply vent. Example would be air return located over the door and the supply vent at the furthest position from the door.

[@OlGoodJoe]

Returns should always be installed in the opposite corner/area of the room that the AC air ends up in and if at all possible furthest from the door.

[@westo84]

Considering adding an additional jumper vent and register to my master bedroom. Currently, there is no return in the bedroom. Should I install both a supply register and a return to the master? If I add a return, does that duct work install to the main supply duct?