Return Air Location

[Aaron Miller]

Is anyone aware of a code or ACCA requirement, or something other than common sense, that prohibits the location of a forced air HVAC return air location adjacent to the door to an attached garage?

[Jerry Peck]

Is anyone aware of a code or ACCA requirement, or something other than common sense, that prohibits the location of a forced air HVAC return air location adjacent to the door to an attached garage?

'Possibly', and 'it depends', meaning 'if it is applicable': (underlining and bold are mine for highlighting)

- M1602.2 Return air openings.
- - Return air openings for heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems shall comply with all of the following:
- - - 1. Openings shall not be located less than 10 feet (3048 mm) measured in any direction from an open combustion chamber or draft hood of another appliance located in the same room or space.
- - - - (Jerry's note: does 1. apply?)
- - - 2. The amount of return air taken from any room or space shall be not greater than the flow rate of supply air delivered to such room or space.
- - - - (Jerry's note: Is there a supply air to that room or space, i.e., is this one large room with a return air near that door, or is it more of a hall/mud room - that would potentially make a different.)
- - - 3. Return and transfer openings shall be sized in accordance with the appliance or equipment manufacturers? installation instructions, Manual D or the design of the registered design professional.
- - - 4. Return air shall not be taken from a closet, bathroom, toilet room, kitchen, garage, mechanical room, boiler room, furnace room or unconditioned attic.
- - - - (Jerry's note: does 4. apply? Similar to 'depends on what is there' in 2. above.)
- - - - Exceptions:
- - - - - 1. Taking return air from a kitchen is not prohibited where such return air openings serve the kitchen only, and are located not less than 10 feet (3048 mm) from the cooking appliances.
- - - - - 2. Dedicated forced-air systems serving only the garage shall not be prohibited from obtaining return air from the garage.
- - - 5. For other than dedicated HVAC systems, return air shall not be take from indoor swimming pool enclosures and associated deck areas except where the air in such spaces is dehumidified.
- - - 6. Taking return air from an unconditioned crawl space shall not be accomplished through a direct connection to the return side of a forced-air furnace. Transfer openings in the crawl space enclosure shall not be prohibited.
- - - 7. Return air from one dwelling unit shall not be discharged into another dwelling unit.

If codes addressed "common sense" items, the codes would be larger than Encyclopedia Britannica.

[Aaron Miller]

"If codes addressed "common sense" items, the codes would be larger than Encyclopedia Britannica."

Agreed.

1. No
2. It is an office/study, but yes one room with an attached bathroom.
3. This is Texas. Manual D never applies to residential, except if you mean legally;) . . . Manual SOTP (seat of the pants) passes for code here.
4. No
5. N/A
6. N/A
7. N/A

To further complicate things the house was built under the 2000 IRC . . .

[Jerry Peck]

2. It is an office/study, but yes one room with an attached bathroom.

Office/study or bedroom being used as an office/study?

Bedrooms are not allowed to have doors which open to a garage.

[Aaron Miller]

Office/study or bedroom being used as an office/study?

Bedrooms are not allowed to have doors which open to a garage.

True. The house is vacant and I cannot verify if it was being used for a bedroom, bowling alley, or brothel.

[Jerry Peck]

True. The house is vacant and I cannot verify if it was being used for a bedroom, bowling alley, or brothel.

To your knowledge then ... if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck ... its a bedroom ... and bedrooms have requirements that other rooms do not have.

[Aaron Miller]

To your knowledge then ... if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck ... its a bedroom ... and bedrooms have requirements that other rooms do not have.

OK. Thanks Jerry. Good to hear from you again.

[Jerry Peck]

OK. Thanks Jerry. Good to hear from you again.

Aaron, glad you're back on here again.

[Jim Luttrall]

Is anyone aware of a code or ACCA requirement, or something other than common sense, that prohibits the location of a forced air HVAC return air location adjacent to the door to an attached garage?
Nope, nothing I am aware of.