Can I put an HVAC vent in my garage?

J

JohnB

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My attic extends out over my attached garage. My air handler unit is in the attic along with all of my other ducts. I have an open spot on my air handler where I could add a duct. The garage portion of the attic is not currently insulated, but I plan to rectify that. Basically I have heard that its not a good Idea, and may be against code, due to automotive fumes getting into the HVAC system. Anyone know the truth? 10 points to the person with an intelligent answer.
Why would I need another return? I only have the main return in my central hallway, and I don't have returns in the other rooms currently.
 
to run a vent into the garage you would have to have a cold air return also. so if you have a car in there fumes will get into the system this can be fatal. Now if are planning to make it a living space with no cars or gas fumes it is possible. people have died when they forgot their car running in the garage with no vent it would happen faster with
 
The way our house is built, we've got several HVAC vents going through our garage. It gets very hot in the summer and we always get below freezing in the winter. Modern vents are typically flexible and insulated; they will likely get installed in one piece; ours are the older solid box style consisting of lots of sections. We were lost a lot of the air we were paying to heat and cool to the elements.

In the end, we insulated our garage ceiling, sprayed insulation around the vents and covered them with Home Energy Barrier, a radiant insulation.

It's made a huge difference to both the comfort level in the rooms above and the amount we were paying to heat and cool our home.
 
Not a good idea without calling a pro. The air handler is rated to Square feet and is installed really close by the builders. Adding the garage could mess-up how well it works in the house.
Also your attic should be vented and probably uses the garage space. Call a pro.
 
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