How to bring in cold air from the outside

My basement is warm all of the time except the fall and winter. Is there anyway to pull in cold air from the outside?? I opened a glass block window and that didn't help.

Its literally 45 degrees outside (Im in upstate NY) and my 650 sq foot basement is 80 degrees.

Use an exhaust fan and pull it in from that window. Make a Styrofoam cut out for the window and your set.

Southside112 said:

Use an exhaust fan and pull it in from that window. Make a Styrofoam cut out for the window and your set.

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I wonder if this would raise the humidity?? The humidity is 95% in the summer and with my de-humidifier its 50%.

I have some cold air intakes, the key here is filtration. You don't wanna be blowing in mold spores, bugs and pollen. So I use dust shrooms on my intakes. These are washable and last a long time plus they filter out all the potential bad stuff.

Shelter your intake from the rain and sunlight that would likely shorten the life of the filter due to UV exposure.

A good centrifugal blower, some galvanized duct work and an electric damper to close when the blower isn't running may be handy.

Meast21 said:

I wonder if this would raise the humidity?? The humidity is 95% in the summer and with my de-humidifier its 50%.

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YES of course unless the air is cold. Cold air is by nature, dry air.

Renfro said:

blowing in mold spores, bugs and pollen

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Plus... all the fire smoke/ash and particulate. Ugh.

Renfro said:

I have some cold air intakes, the key here is filtration. You don't wanna be blowing in mold spores, bugs and pollen. So I use dust shrooms on my intakes. These are washable and last a long time plus they filter out all the potential bad stuff.

Shelter your intake from the rain and sunlight that would likely shorten the life of the filter due to UV exposure.

A good centrifugal blower, some galvanized duct work and an electric damper to close when the blower isn't running may be handy.

Click to expand...

Yeah but these glass block windows are small... I need something a little bigger than a drier vent... I need to have my HVAC friend like drill a hole in my foundation to bring the cold air in.

Meast21 said:

Yeah but these glass block windows are small... I need something a little bigger than a drier vent... I need to have my HVAC friend like drill a hole in my foundation to bring the cold air in.

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All my intakes are 10 and 12 inchers. A 4 incher is pretty worthless indeed.

Southside112 said:

Use an exhaust fan and pull it in from that window. Make a Styrofoam cut out for the window and your set.

Click to expand...

I build 6" intake boots to mount to my basement windows. I used dollar store foam board and hot glue with 1"x1" wood slats for strength. Lasted 2 years. I now use 1/8" plywood 1 by 1's. Cut one piece to a 2'" minimum frame in widow opening or outside it. Mounting preference. Attach 1x's around the outside edge on three sides. Cut second peice to same outside dimensions as first. Cut a 6" hole dead center. 1 6" straight pipe with damper is now needed. Tin snips and a crimp tool help. Snips a must. Remove as much of the female end as you can before the damper assembly. Being sure to leave 1" extra. Cut diagonal notches around the end you cut to 1' from end. Insert into hole 1". Bend tabs over and secure. Attach to 1x's on first board. Buy a fine micron furnace filter 1" thick and larger than your frame. Cut to fit inside frame through open side. Mount open side up. Effective, easy, cheap. And most flex duct will allow you to cut the crimped male end to length you need. Push a lever and it opens or closes. Just a red neck fix.