Why You Shouldn’t Close off Air Conditioning Vents in Unused Rooms
Almost 100 million American homes have HVAC units. For many homeowners, their HVAC system is the saving grace that allows them to live comfortably in their own homes. However, for some, it’s a constant struggle to achieve the ideal temperature.
It’s tempting to start closing air conditioning vents to increase the heating or cooling effect in other rooms. But this may not be the best or smartest approach.
This guide will explain why you shouldn’t close your air vents in used rooms.
Does Closing Vents Redirect Air?
Homeowners commonly misunderstand how the air moves throughout their home. It’s incorrect to assume that by closing air vents in one room, you can redirect more air to another.
Your HVAC system comes designed to have the vents open. By closing vents, you do redirect air, but it backs up into the ductwork. This increases the total pressure in the system.
This encourages leaks to develop from the increased pressure. Now the air you are trying to redirect gets sent into your home’s unconditioned areas. Now your system runs longer and harder to compensate for the lost air.
Does Closing Vents Save Money?
It’s easy to assume that you can save energy by closing vents to reduce the overall square footage required for heating and cooling. However, this isn’t the case. Your system functions with the total square footage of your home.
Closing vents creates leaks, which causes your system to work harder. This increases your system’s overall energy consumption.
Does Closing Vents Help Air Conditioning?
Closing off air vents can hurt your system and require you to hire a repair technician. Closed vents also reduce the return airflow. When heating, this reduces the amount of cool air returning to the heat exchanger, causing it to overheat and crack.
When cooling your system, there’s a lack of returning warm air. This can lead to frozen coils. This can damage your compressor.
The Heat Sink Effect
It’s a fact of physics that heat naturally moves from warmer areas to colder ones. So if you close the vents in one room, your system will work harder to keep specific rooms cold or warm.
The warmth from an unconditioned room will move to the cooled room. Or the warmth in a heated room will move to the unheated one.
How to Save Money the Right Way
Instead of trying to create zones on your own with your current system, consider replacing your system with one that is designed to be zoned. You may be able to retrofit your system.
These zones systems have dampers located in the ductwork. These open and close to direct air without negatively impacting the overall system.
Leave Your Air Conditioning Vents Open
As you can see, closing the air conditioning vents in your rooms can cause damage to your HVAC system. Instead of saving energy and directing more air to the other rooms, you’ll increase your energy usage and potentially break several components.
If you find that your home isn’t cooling properly, consider having your system serviced. You may find that this addresses your issues. If not, you can look into replacing your system with one that’s zoned.
Contact our experienced team today and let us help you properly maintain your air conditioning system.