There may be times that you want to cool certain areas of your home more than others. In an attempt to do this, you may close the air vents in other rooms, so that more airflow channels to the areas that you desire.
While this is good in theory, it doesn’t actually work the way you want it to. In fact, it can put strain on your system and leave you calling our team to schedule an appointment for central air conditioning repair in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. You can keep reading to learn more about why closing your air vents is a bad idea and what you can do instead.
Role of Air Vents
Your air vents connect to the system of ductwork located in either your attic or your basement. These vents lead to each room of your home and work together as a system to cool your home consistently across every room. If you are experiencing hot or cold spots in your home that do not remain a consistent temperature, closing air vents will not help. Instead, it may make the problem worse.
Impact of Closing Air Vents
Closing air vents blocks airflow from exiting your ductwork. Each home has a completely unique ductwork layout based on the individual layout of the home. You may have one air vent in some rooms, two in others, and even more air vents in larger rooms.
The idea is that cool air gets distributed equally around your home. When you close an air vent, that air does not channel to other areas of your home. Instead, it gets trapped in the ductwork. Closing a single air vent may not have a huge impact, but if you close multiple air vents, that cool air can back up in the system and potentially even lead to frozen evaporator coils.
In addition to putting strain on your system, your air conditioner will also begin to work harder to cool your home. The thermostat reads the indoor temperature and your AC is designed to work at a certain power level to achieve those results. Closing vents means that your air conditioner has to work harder for your home to cool down. This additional strain can escalate wear and tear so that your AC doesn’t last as long.
Alternative Options
Instead of closing air vents, you can take other steps. If you have a room that is particularly hot or cold compared to other rooms, you can give our team a call and talk about your concerns. There may be a problem with your ductwork that we can fix. For example, we can fix your ductwork if it has shifted out of place. We can also move air vents if they are in inconvenient locations. If your ductwork has broken seals that are allowing cool air to escape before reaching your home, we can address that too.
If you are closing air vents in an attempt to prevent your home from cooling down as much, you are better off simply setting the thermostat temperature a little bit higher. This will help you save on energy costs, too. You can also utilize ceiling fans and floor fans as a way of creating air movement throughout your home so it feels cooler without lowering the temperature as much. In fact, fans can actually make your home feel as much as 4° cooler.
Your comfort is our business. Contact the team at Elliott McElwee Heating and Cooling today to schedule your appointment for AC service.