This article, Should You Close Vents in Unused Rooms?, saw first print on saveonenergy.com by Lisa Iscrupe |
It may seem like closing vents in unused rooms would save energy and money by reducing heating and cooling costs. It’s less square footage to heat or cool, right? However, it’s a common misconception that closing vents in unused rooms can actually save energy. Find out why and what to do instead.
Should you close air vents in your house to save energy?
The short answer is no; you should not close air vents in
your house. Closing vents can actually waste more energy than operating your
system normally. How does closing air vents waste energy? Because when you
close vents in unused rooms, your central air system will push the excess air
to other places in your home. Let’s take a look at what happens to all that
extra air.
Why would you want to close vents in your home?
- A room
is too hot or too cold
- You
have rooms you rarely or never use
- You
believe it will save money or energy
What happens when you close air vents in your home?
Your HVAC system is built to heat and cool your home based
on size, so you are throwing off this delicate balance if you close vents.
Closing several vents makes the system have to work overtime to heat or cool
the rest of your home and can increase air pressure through your home’s duct
system. This increased pressure is not detrimental to your HVAC system for a
short time but can cause issues if left unchecked long term.
Static pressure in your air vents
According to Dominion ServiceCompany, “Static pressure is one of the most important factors in HVAC
design. Simply put, static pressure refers to the resistance to airflow in a
heating and cooling system’s components and ductwork.” Closing vents will
increase pressure, which can restrict or stop air pressure within your home.
Along these lines, keeping doors closed to interior rooms for extended periods
can cause the same HVAC response as closing vents, so it is generally not
recommended.
The one exception: If your heating and cooling
systems are separate, which is typically the case only in an older home, in
which central air may have been added to the house later.
Issues that static pressure in-home air vents can cause
- Can
cause leaks in the HVAC system
- Can
make existing leaks worse
- Makes
the HVAC system less efficient
- Can
cause carbon monoxide leaks if the infrastructure is damaged
What’s the solution?
We recommend keeping vents and interior doors open as much
as possible. However, if that’s not the case, try closing vents only partially.
Closing vents 50-74% of the way can ensure that air keeps circulating
throughout your home and can help keep your energy bill low.
Regardless of how many vents you have open, the heater or
air conditioner produces the same amount of air. The added pressure from
closing a vent can cause air leaks in your system, causing long-term and
unnecessary energy waste. Air leaks cause the unit to work harder as it tries
to make your home comfortable. In addition, shutting vents could damage your AC
or heater, leading to inefficient operation and costly repairs.
So does it save energy to close vents in unused rooms? The
answer, unfortunately, is no. You are better off keeping the vents open to
ensure the unit operates efficiently. This way, over the lifetime of your
system, you can save on energy use and repair costs.
Deborah F
Communications Manager
6860 North Dallas Parkway, Suite 228 | Plano, TX 75024
Email: heba@admin.saveonenergy.com
Website: www.saveonenergy.com
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