Ceiling ducts don t hog existing or potential closet wall or ceiling space making an interesting or worse unsightly decoration and ceiling vents don t present the decorative dilemma floor vents often due forcing furniture to strange locations to prevent blockages in airflow.
Floor vs ceiling vents.
Unfortunately several of these vents are rusting underground.
How air registers work.
Air registers have slatted openings in the floor wall or ceiling that a user can control using an adjustable damper.
Floor heat ducts are not as visible as ceiling ducts.
Ceiling ducts are more visible than floor ducts and harder to camouflage.
The placement of your return is.
They all use ceiling vents.
This isnt the main concern however.
Taking into consideration the cubic feet per minute of air needed for the room to maintain a comfortable temperature and the throw or coverage of the area.
For heating vents in the floor would be better.
Floor wall and ceiling registers each have their own strengths and weaknesses that make them suited for different situations.
Floor ducts for heating.
According to the natural laws of convection heated air entering through floor ducts rises.
These principles should also be applied when locating return vents the vents that pull air from the room to supply your hvac system.
For cooling ceiling would be better.
Registers these typically slatted covers are found in the floor wall or ceiling and their defining feature is a lever that allows you to open or close the air vent to adjust airflow into the space.
Ceiling ducts cannot be used with radiant heating systems which generate heat from the floors.
If theyre in the floor youll want your return in the ceiling.
As a general rule ceiling mounted vents offer better cooling potential while floor vents offer superior heat delivery.
If the registers are in the ceiling you will want your return low.
For homes where heating is a primary concern floor collection is advisable to pull from.
You can find floor registers in a variety of materials styles and finishes so you can incorporate them as a decorative element that also blends.
My furnace guy tells me that here in oklahoma floor vents are no longer allowed in new homes.
Heat entering through ceiling ducts however naturally tends to accumulate at the ceiling warming the room from top to bottom more slowly than floor ducts.
Either type of register ceiling or floor can be used for this as long as the need for the area.
This disperses warmth evenly throughout the room from floor to ceiling.
As for pros and cons of either.
The ideal register placement for each room depends on a variety of factors including energy efficiency ease and cost of installation appearance and of course comfort.