Heating & Air Conditioning Booster
by Suncourt
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Our Price: $28.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $20.00 (click here) Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Heating & Air Conditioning Booster
Customer Review: Works as advertised
Summary: 4 Stars
Works as advertised. My family recently moved into a 2-story colonial, and the airflow coming out of the vents in the master bedroom is a little weak, making it warmer than the rest of the bedrooms on the top floor. I could turn down the thermostat, but that would freeze out the rest of the house. The Suncourt (HC500) and Airflow Breeze boosted registers caught my eye, but I wanted a quick solution (i.e. no order-and-wait) and the local Home Depot had the HC300 in stock.
What can I say, but "it works". Without the HC300, the airflow (floor vents shooting upward) reached a height of 3 ft (based on holding my hand above the vent), and with the booster, it reached a perceptible height of 5 feet. With a single booster over 1 of our 2 vents, the master bedroom was noticeably cooler. In fact it worked so well that I ordered two in-vent boosters (HC500) so that I have one for each duct. The weather has cooled down, so I'm unable to compared those to the HC300, except that they are quieter.
As far as noise goes, the HC300 is not silent, but it is far quieter than a Marpac white noise machine set to the lowest setting (we use that in our baby's room). Actually, for use in a bedroom, I find the low level of white noise kinda soothing. As an added bonus, the fan in the booster doesn't turn off until the air temperature from the ductwork reaches a preset temperature. That means that after the AC (or heat) has turned off, the booster is still scavenging the remaining cool (or warm during the winter) air from the ductwork.
This is a great solution if your airflow to a room is weak, but I can imagine some circumstances (strong airflow, but warm air) where boosting the airflow won't help or you'll have a ceiling effect. Yes, you ideally would want to call in a professional to rebalance the ductwork, but in many instances it would be cost prohibitive (i.e. ripping up flooring to get to the ductwork).
I give it a 4 out of 5, with 1 point deducted for the (albeit low) noise level.
Customer Review: Solved Our Cooling Problem
Summary: 4 Stars
Our master bedroom is on the top level of our house, two levels above the central A/C blower unit for that part of the house. Our master bedroom is also at the very end of the HVAC run, and has large windows that take up most of the east wall of the room. As a result of all of these factors, in the summer our master bedroom was about 5 - 10 degrees warmer than the rest of the house. We had tried everything we could think of to force more cold air up into the master bedroom, including shutting off the vents to the lower levels of the house. Nothing seemed to help in any noticable way.
Finally, I decided to try out the Suncourt Equalizer EQ2 register booster fan. I bought two, one for each register in our master bedroom. I do not bother with the automatic controls, so cannot speak for how well they work. I simply put them on manual mode and let them run constantly. The difference in the temperature of our master bedroom is amazing. During the hottest part of the day, it is now the same temperature as the rest of the upstairs rooms in our home (due to the open construction and high cathedral ceilings in the house, the upstairs rooms are almost always a couple of degrees warmer than the downstairs rooms), and in the morning the master bedroom is actually the coolest room in the house! The only downside is that the fans are not exactly quiet, but they're not so loud you don't get used to them pretty quickly, either.
All in all, this product worked as advertised, and better than I expected. I would certainly buy this product again.
Customer Review: Works Great In Our Home
Summary: 4 Stars
Since it had so many good and bad reviews, I hesitated buying it online due to return issues, but then found it at a local "big box" hardware store. I figured it was worth the risk at that point, and have been VERY satisfied with its performance.
I am using it in a 169 square foot room with vaulted ceilings (no attic above) and three exterior walls, including West and South (with windows on the West and South walls!) This room is furthest from the blower, and generally stays 6-8 degrees warmer than the adjacent room. After installing this unit that room now is within 1-2 degrees of the adjacent room and I no longer have to turn my air condictioner down so low just to cool off one room!
Pros: While some may find it noisy, it is quieter than the fan I use to circulate the air in that room, and find it no more than a background hum. It comes on automatically, which means it will only run when the AC is blowing cool air (you can bypass this option). Relatively easy to install with a long enough cord to reach far away outlets. With our HVAC configuration it has lowered the temperature of the room by around 5 degrees.
Cons: I had a typical 6x10 opening, and I did have to trim out around it to make it look more finished. While this was not necessary for function, it makes it look more complete. For a wall mount installation you need to install it so the label is upside down. I know that sounds like I am being picky, but just about everyone who has seen it has asked why I installed it upside down. Strange.
Customer Review: it works for me
Summary: 4 Stars
Based on the other reviews, it sounds as though the EQ2 works for some people and doesn't for others depending on their individual room and HVAC configurations. I have an upstairs room with a vaulted ceiling that is 10 degrees Fahrenheit hotter or colder than the rest of the house. The room is more than 200 sq. ft., has only one vent, and is the farthest from the blower. I've had my EQ2 now for 3 years and it is still working fine. The EQ2 brings the temperature difference down to about 4 degrees, which is livable. I tried out the AirFlow Breeze that has 2 DC fans in it but it didn't work as well as the EQ2.Customer Review: A gem
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought one three years ago, and it's beginning to suffer from heat prostration. No quibble with previous reviewers, but my heat source is an in-the-wall furnace with no blower. This jewel makes the house livable in about 30 minutes compared to several hours without it. For the right application, it is priceless.
Negative: They could have made the plastic a bit more heat resistant