Closing Air Conditioning Vents

Closing air vents is a popular strategy for adjusting air flow in the home but it s not necessarily a good one.

Closing air conditioning vents.

But this is an average. 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. Patent 8 062 108 issued november 22 2011. By using a variety of methods with their air duct vent covers many people are experiencing temperatures in their homes that are better than ever.

Comfort issues remember a psc blower delivers less air the more vents you close. Magnetically actuated auto closing air vent u s. This causes a couple of problems. Environmental protection agency estimates that most homeowners lose 20 percent of the cool air they re paying for right through their home s ducts.

That means your home will take longer to cool down or heat up. 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. So when you shut some vents you are messing up the balance of your ac system. So we ve covered the most important problem with closing vents.

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. Before closing any vents in your home. Other issues with closing vents.

Closed vents increase pressure. Many homes lose even more. Ensure that your ducts are properly sealed and connected. 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.

The ideal system also has low duct leakage. When you close vents pressure builds up in your ducts. The belief is that closing a vent will simply push the air onward to other parts of the home improving energy efficiency. The typical system however is far from ideal.

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.