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Most HVAC systems at least partially recirculate air to increase cooling or heating
capacity to conditioned spaces while avoiding the energy and first cost impact of
conditioning outdoor air. These systems generally take one of the following forms:
Return air is conveyed entirely in ductwork from or relief fans in lieu of less efficient return fans, which
the conditioned space back to the air-handling unit; are generally required when return air is fully ducted.1,2
Return air is conveyed entirely using architectural Little or no balancing costs for the return air system
plenums such as ceiling cavities, drywall shafts, and and, for VAV systems, balance is better maintained as
mechanical rooms; or supply airflow rate varies as loads vary. Ducted return
A combination of ductwork and architectural ple- systems can only be balanced at one condition, generally
nums. at design airflow rates, and are inherently unbalanced
Using architectural plenums is prohibited in some at other conditions, possibly leading to overly positive or
applications. For instance, most model mechanical negative space pressurization.
codes do not allow conveying air in plenums exposed Reduced noise transfer between rooms. Sheet metal
to materials that do not meet certain flame spread and ducts, if unlined, are very adept at channeling crosstalk
smoke generation limits, such as wood beams or trusses. from room to room,* much more so than a large ceiling
Most health-care codes also prohibit the use of archi- plenum where noise can dissipate.
tectural plenums for critical medical spaces because of
concern about asepsis. But for most commercial and Disadvantages of Architectural Return Air Plenums
residential applications, architectural plenums can be On the other hand, using architectural plenums has
used. some potential disadvantages:
There is the possibility of indoor air quality prob-
Benefits of Architectural Return Air Plenums lems in humid climates if the architectural plenum is
The benefits of using architectural plenums vs. duct- negatively pressurized to the outdoors.3 Humid out-
work include: door air can be drawn into the architectural plenum
Reduced HVAC system costs of about $3 to $5 per and cooled below the dew point, causing condensation
square foot ($32 to $54 per square meter), about 10% to and subsequent mold and mildew problems within the
20% of the total HVAC system cost. structure. This potential problem can be avoided by sim-
Reduced costs to other trades to accommodate the ply not allowing the architectural plenums to become
congestion caused by the added return air ductwork, negatively pressurized relative to outdoors. For example,
such as raising the floor-to-floor height or adding ad- a return air plenum can be easily designed and con-
ditional offsets in plumbing and sprinkler piping. trolled to be positively pressured. First, the building can
Reduced fan energy costs of about 20% to 30% due be controlled to be pressurized to about 0.05 in. w.c.
to the much lower pressure drop of the plenum return (12.5 Pa),4 and ceiling return air grilles can be selected
system. to have a pressure drop of only about 0.02 in. w.c. (5 Pa).
Reduced fan energy in systems with outdoor air The ceiling plenum will thus be positive 0.03 in.w.c. (7.5
economizers due to the ability to use non-powered relief *The author experienced this firsthand with a home that was custom built for the previous owner
who required that the furnace be fully ducted to each room with unlined sheet metal ducts. My
teenage children entertained themselves for hours spying on each other by listening through the
Steven T. Taylor, P.E., is a principal of Taylor Engineering in Alameda, Calif. He is a mem- return air grilles. The first modification my wife and I made to the house was to blank off the return
ber of SSPC 90.1 and chair of TC 4.3, Ventilation Requirements and Infiltration. air grille to our bedroom
FIGURE 1
Typical pressures: Plenum return. FIGURE 2
Return air risers.
A. Ducted B. Unducted
+0.05
FIGURE 3
Inexpensive return air sound boot. TABLE 1
Rule-of-thumb design velocities for transfer assemblies.
DUCT SIZING
INLET DISCHARGE
NO. APPLICATION RULE OF THUMB
LOCATION LOCATION
FPM
Wall
Return Air Return Air Lined 5 ft Boot
1 800
Plenum Plenum (Figure 3)
Lined Transfer
Boot Return Air Return Air
2 Flex Duct Both Sides 750
Plenum Plenum
Return Air Return Air Single Elbow
3 700
Plenum Plenum (No Turning Vanes)
Return Air Return Air Double Elbow Both
4 575
Plenum Plenum Sides (No Turning Vanes)
Return Air Flex Duct to
5 Ceiling Grille 500
Plenum Perforated Face Grille
Flex Duct to
6 Ceiling Grille Ceiling Grille 350
Perforated Face Grilles
many floor-to-floor partitions, such as acoustical parti- Return Air Toilet Makeup.
7 Ceiling Grille Flex Duct to Perforated Face 325
tions, tenant separation walls, and rated corridor walls. Plenum
Where there are multiple partitions between the air The velocities are intended to result in a 0.08 in.w.c. (20 Pa) pressure drop across the transfer as-
sembly including pressure drop of entrance, exit, duct, and grilles. Return air plenum is assumed
handler or return air shaft and the most remote rooms, to be 0.02 in. w.c. (5 Pa) relative to the space for Application 5 and 0.05 in. w.c. (12 Pa) for
return air transfer openings and sound boots must be sized Application 7. Note that these are for a single return air transfer for multiple boots in series (e.g.,
cascading from one room to another before it gets to the shaft), velocities must be even lower so
for even lower velocities and get progressively larger (Figure the total pressure drop does not exceed 0.08 in. from furthest room to shaft or fan room to ensure
4) to ensure that the overall pressure drop remains low to exterior plenum walls are positively pressurized relative to the outdoors.
R.A. Shaft
+0.05
rule-of-thumb) of return air grilles believing that this
improves return air performance. In the authors opinion,
there is no value to these duct extensions and they add to
first costs and energy costs. If there is room in the ceiling
for the return air duct, there is even more room in the
return air plenum without the duct, so velocity and pres-
sure drop will be lower if the duct is eliminated. the fan with zero offset. If the return fan has direct
building pressure control, disable this control so the
Diagnosing Return Air Problems relief damper is closed.
A common misdiagnosis is that a room is undercooled 3. Open VAV boxes as required to simulate full design
because it has no return air paththe air is trapped. conditions.
However, this is almost never the case with ducted sup- 4. Run the supply air fan under normal control.
ply air systems such as VAV systems. This is because If the building or room pressures are excessive during
the walls and ceiling enclosing a typical room are not this test, the return air path is constricted. If not, the
so airtight that they can cause enough backpressure to relief system is the source of the problem. This could be
prevent air from the supply air fan from being supplied verified by configuring the system in 100% outdoor air,
to the room. If supply airflow to a room is verified by 100% exhaust mode.
a flow hood, VAV box airflow sensor, or other airflow Once the constricted path is identified, the pinch point
measuring device, the room is being conditioned even if or points can be identified by measuring static pressure
there is no obvious return air path; air is simply leaving along the path looking for excessive pressure drops.
the room through leaks in walls, ceilings, doors, etc. To
verify this, simply compare the measured supply airflow Conclusions and Recommendations
rate with the doors to the room open and then closed. The benefits of using architectural plenums for return
So a constricted return air path will seldom cause tem- air are substantial, including much lower first costs and
perature control problems. But they can create differen- lower energy costs. In most cases, the design is also easy:
tial pressure problems resulting in doors being pushed just ensure that each space has a low pressure return air
closed or open and audible airflow noise at leakage path back to the air handler. But where there are many
points such as around doors. full height walls and other constrictions, care must be
If the air handler has an airside economizer, these taken to ensure that the low velocity return air path is
same symptoms can also be caused by an ineffective maintained by properly sizing transfer ducts and sound
relief air path, such as an undersized non-powered boots.
relief (barometric) damper or undersized relief fan
(powered exhaust). To determine which path, return or References
1. Taylor, S. 2000. Comparing economizer relief systems.
relief, is the cause, perform this simple test: ASHRAE Journal (9).
1. Configure the economizer dampers for zero outdoor 2. Kettler, J. 2004. Return fans or relief fans. ASHRAE Journal (4).
air, zero exhaust air, and 100% return air. 3. Lstiburek, J. 2009. Fundamental changes in the last 50 years.
ASHRAE Journal (7).
2. If the system has a relief fan, turn it off. If it has a 4. Taylor, S. 2014. Controlling return air fans in VAV systems.
return fan that is controlled by airflow tracking,4 control ASHRAE Journal (10).
This rule is generally not true of low pressure unducted systems such as underfloor air distribution (UFAD) systems. The floor pressure is generally very low, less than 0.1 in. w.c. (25 Pa), so backpressure
caused by a restricted return air path from a room can restrict supply airflow and thus cause temperature control problems.