So we are just under a year in our new home. We moved in back in March (on the tail end of cold season). It is two story, and like most two story homes, the conditioned air tends to stratify heavily before reaching equilibrium.
I was wondering if anyone had ever successfully rigged a circulation system that would operate a fan unit that pulls the hot air from the common area on the second floor and pushes it to the far corners of the first floor, essentially helping to mix the air and make it more uniform. It wouldn't need to be heated or cooled, so pushing it through the coils wouldn't be necessary. I guess it could be run in reverse in the summer to pull colder air from the first floor and push it upstairs, though the stratification is less noticeable in the summer.
I see it being run three ways:
1: integrated with the existing system, utilizing its duct work and somehow tied into the thermostats.
2: separate electronics but maybe using the existing ductwork via dampeners tied to shutoff switches (IF fan on AND damper open, RUN FAN, ELSE OFF).
3: completely separate electronics and completely separate ductwork.
Thoughts? Has anyone successfully retrofitted their home with something like this, and did it seem to make a difference?
I was wondering if anyone had ever successfully rigged a circulation system that would operate a fan unit that pulls the hot air from the common area on the second floor and pushes it to the far corners of the first floor, essentially helping to mix the air and make it more uniform. It wouldn't need to be heated or cooled, so pushing it through the coils wouldn't be necessary. I guess it could be run in reverse in the summer to pull colder air from the first floor and push it upstairs, though the stratification is less noticeable in the summer.
I see it being run three ways:
1: integrated with the existing system, utilizing its duct work and somehow tied into the thermostats.
2: separate electronics but maybe using the existing ductwork via dampeners tied to shutoff switches (IF fan on AND damper open, RUN FAN, ELSE OFF).
3: completely separate electronics and completely separate ductwork.
Thoughts? Has anyone successfully retrofitted their home with something like this, and did it seem to make a difference?