Closing Air Conditioning Vents

The typical system however is far from ideal.

Closing air conditioning vents.

Comfort issues remember a psc blower delivers less air the more vents you close. Environmental protection agency estimates that most homeowners lose 20 percent of the cool air they re paying for right through their home s ducts. Closed vents increase pressure. So we ve covered the most important problem with closing vents.

The belief is that closing a vent will simply push the air onward to other parts of the home improving energy efficiency. The ideal system also has low duct leakage. Patent 8 062 108 issued november 22 2011. If you close off the vents in a room you throw off the intended pressure balance that your system is designed to operate under which can lead to the effects below.

In a well designed system the blower moves the air against a pressure that s no greater than the maximum specified by the manufacturer typically 0 5 iwc. This causes a couple of problems. But this is an average. Many homes lose even more.

That means the ductwork was sized so that amount of air going into your air conditioning system equals the volume of air going out of your system. Ensure that your ducts are properly sealed and connected. Leaking or burst ductwork. When you close vents pressure builds up in your ducts.

Homeowners typically close vents in an attempt to redirect air away from unused spaces. Supply and return vents are strategically placed so that the amount of air that comes out of your supply vents is equal to the amount of air that is sucked in by your return vents. But there are a few other important problems closing vents can cause including. That means your home will take longer to cool down or heat up.

Other issues with closing vents. Before closing any vents in your home. A self closing vent intended for use in attics crawl spaces joist cavities exterior walls interior walls or other structural element which allows for the free flow of air from outside a building to interior spaces during normal use. Closing air vents is a popular strategy for adjusting air flow in the home but it s not necessarily a good one.

By closing air vents that are not being used many homeowners experience rather substantial savings on their monthly energy bills enabling them to use these savings elsewhere.