Air conditioning vent clearance

March 26, 2012 8:01 AM

I have air conditioning vents in the floor at the side of the room. The vents can be angled in different directions. If I put a large dresser against the wall, above a vent, with clearance of a few inches, will it be substantially detrimental to heating/cooling?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 to Home & Garden (8 answers total)

Yes, but you can get little 90 degree air turners like these. That'll fix the issue.
posted by Brockles at 8:12 AM on March 26, 2012 [2 favorites]

Could you consider having the dresser pulled away from the wall far enough that it isn't above the vent?

I suspect the deflector that Brockles is suggesting is too tall to fit under your dresser, and the question becomes, would you deflect the air forward or backward, and is there a way for the air to escape from under the dresser.

I think you should avoid putting the dresser over the vent. Blocking the vent in a manner that restricts the airflow is not good for the system (as well as impacting on how effective it would be in cooling the room).
posted by HuronBob at 8:29 AM on March 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

If by few inches you mean at least 4 then no not really. Your register is probably 3X10 or 4X10 so as long as your free space between the dresser and the floor is at least say 80 square inches you shouldn't notice any difference. Their will be a restriction that will slow the flow because of the abrupt change in direction but in most cases a single change like that won't put you out of the design target.

The higher the bottom of the dresser the better so if you do notice a change a set of nail on glides may reduce the effect.

Where you would notice a difference is if this is also a heating vent under a window. Heating vents are generally under windows so as to impart an air curtain effect on the coldest part of the wall. Redirecting a heating vent so that the output doesn't sweep the window can therefore have a significant effect on the perceived temperature of the room.
posted by Mitheral at 8:35 AM on March 26, 2012 [2 favorites]

I have my dresser up against a wall vent. I removed the back paneling of the dresser, and now all my clothes are comfortably warm in the morning.
posted by MangyCarface at 10:08 AM on March 26, 2012 [2 favorites]

Don't do this if it's a fine quality dresser as the forced air will really pull all the moisture out of the wood. You could end up with loose joints and/or cracks in your dresser. I have no idea how the positioning would affect the airflow though.
posted by PorcineWithMe at 10:41 AM on March 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yes it will if its below a window
posted by majortom1981 at 1:31 PM on March 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

Holmes on Holmes stated not to do this on an episode just last night.
posted by majortom1981 at 1:31 PM on March 26, 2012 [1 favorite]

PorcineWithMe might be right that the flow of cold, dry air around the outside bottom of your dresser could dry out the wood, but the air inside the bottom drawer, which would probably be composed mainly of more humid room air, could be cooled down enough by the cold drawer that moisture would condense out it onto the drawer and its contents, and you'd get mildew.

I wouldn't do this unless something like one of Brockle's air turners allows you to keep the bottom drawer from getting cold.
posted by jamjam at 2:14 PM on March 26, 2012 [1 favorite]