Closing Off Air Vents

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

Closing off air vents.

Closing one increases attic leakage by 5 and increases flow to the other 3 vents by 5 each. 5 issues caused by closing the vents in unused rooms system damage. Air conditioner s evaporator coil the part that cools the air. Closing one or two heater vents in a forced air system is usually acceptable as long as it s less than 40 percent of the vents in the home or two vents out of every five.

The entire system is in jeopardy if your crawl space isn t sealed off from the outside air correctly. Furnace s heat exchanger the part that heats the air. Low airflow causes the coil to get too cold and sometimes turn into a block of. Do not seal the vent if it is a return vent.

You can seal off supply vents but do not seal off too many of them. Low airflow will cause heat exchanger to. The pressure imbalance creates a suction effect that causes the cold air return duct to pull in air from cracks in windows and doors. The issues your hvac experiences due to closed vents are like problems caused by dirty air filters including inadequate airflow turning off and on frequently and premature hvac breakdown.

As if a damaged system isn t bad enough closed air vents can cause ductwork to leak or burst. To close off a room or an entire section of your home to air conditioning and or heating this is the correct way to do it. It s not just the energy efficiency of your home that takes a hit if you close vents. Homeowners typically close vents in an attempt to redirect air away from unused spaces.

Wasted cool air in the attic moves from 20 to 25 of the total but the closed off room is considered worth it. Studies show that closing too many registers in the home restricts airflow to the point that the system s. The study also found that whatever benefit was derived from closing air vents was largely offset by increased duct leakage. How closing air vents can hurt your hvac system.

You must determine if the vent or register that you want to close off is a supply vent or a return vent. The belief is that closing a vent will simply push the air onward to other parts of the home improving energy efficiency. Closing too many vents. Sealing return vents will cause the air pump or furnace blower to work harder and will likely cause damage.

With this in mind crawl space encapsulation will not work without closed vents. When you shut off the vents you can increase the pressure in your ductwork which can back up into your hvac and cause issues.