Little-Known Tip About Vents
Do you close some of your vents to get more air to the rooms that need it?
Are you trying to save money by only heating or cooling the parts of the house where you’re active?
Many people close the vents in rooms they do not use and close the doors to those rooms. So you’re not alone if you believe that closing vents can save you money, condition the other parts of your house better and cause your hvac equipment to run less.
Why closing vents seems to make sense
If you’re not using a spare bedroom why not close the vent, save money and redirect the air to the other rooms? Most registers (vents) even have a built-in lever that allows you to adjust the louvres behind the grille, change the direction of the air flow, or shut off the air flow altogether.
What actually happens when you close vents
Closing vents and closing doors doesn’t prevent air movement, it just interferes with it. The closed off room will be under pressure and if it has a return air duct it will pull in outside air from leaks around windows. The conditioned air trying to push up through the closed vent will create pressure as it backs up and it may leak out of ducts that are not sealed properly or force an opening in the duct work, leaking air into the floor cavity or back down into the basement.
Meanwhile your hvac system will continue trying to push air to all the vents. Newer high efficiency furnaces and air conditioners will detect the increased air pressure, step up the fan speed and attempt to push through that pressure (and lessen their efficiency). Older equipment will continue running like normal but operating under this increased pressure will strain and wear the blower motor. The pressure can damage the duct work or, worse still, if the pressure gets high enough it will damage the equipment.
Your equipment depends on good air flow to operate properly. If it does not have enough air being returned to it and then taking the heat away from it, the heat exchanger could crack and this would result in carbon monoxide leaking into your home, circulating through your vents. In addition to the huge health risk, your furnace or air conditioner would also need to be replaced.
Conclusion
It’s not a good idea to close vents, but if you’re determined to shut off the heat to a room, contact an HVAC expert from our home services company. They will tell you what can be done safely and what adjustments can be made to the operation of your furnace. Alterations you make on your own won’t be covered under the warranty of your HVAC system and could cause serious damage to your HVAC system. A professional will ensure that your equipment is working well. Oftentimes an HVAC expert can help you get your equipment operating more efficiently (and saving you money) in ways that do not involve closing vents.