Is It Okay to Close Certain AC Registers?

Homeowners commonly close air vents around their home in an attempt to divert air to their chosen areas, but is it really okay to close certain air vents in your Fair Oaks, CA home? As it turns out, this is not necessarily a strategy that will provide the results you’re looking for, and it can actually cause your energy bills to rise in some circumstances.

Here’s a quick overview of what you should know about closing air vents and the effects this will have on the delivery of hot or cold air throughout your home.

Closing vents: What to know

It’s important to understand what actually happens when you close off vents for your HVAC system. When this happens, it increases the pressure inside your air ducts. What happens next depends on the condition of the ducts.

If the ducts are well sealed, there’s a possibility this will help you increase the airflow in other parts of your home where vents are open. However, there’s still the likelihood that the conditioned air will take an inefficient route to get there, which reduces the overall efficiency of your HVAC system. This means you’d be paying more money for less air delivery.

Most homes, however, have at least some leaks in their air ducts, which means the higher levels of pressure in the system will result in the air finding its way out through the nearest leak. This means that not only will you not get air delivered to your closed-off rooms, but you’ll also have less delivered to your open rooms than you would in normal circumstances. This results in increased energy losses and, again, higher energy bills.

Your system has been designed to provide balanced air delivery throughout your home. If you seal off rooms, you throw off that balance. All you’re really going to do by closing vents is create hot and cold spots in your home while making your HVAC less efficient. Keep in mind that your air conditioner and furnace have been specifically outfitted based on the size of your home and the layout of your ductwork.

Your options

So, if closing off your vents won’t work the way you want it to, what strategies are available to you as a homeowner to be able to better manage the heating and cooling in certain parts of your home?

The most effective option is going to be installing a zoned HVAC system. This will separate your ductwork into different regions, so you can manage different zones of your home with separate settings on your thermostat. While this is going to be a more expensive type of air conditioning system to install in your home because it requires you to change up the ductwork, it does at least give you greater control over the temperature levels around your home.

If you’re interested in learning more about the steps you can take to get better control over the heating and cooling in all areas of your home, we encourage you to contact the team at Cassel Air Conditioning and Heating Service today. We’d be glad to tell you more about your alternatives to closing AC registers in Fair Oaks, CA.

Categorised in: Air Conditioner Maintenance

This post was written by Writer