Closing Air Conditioning Vents In Basement

The belief is that closing a vent will simply push the air onward to other parts of the home improving energy efficiency.

Closing air conditioning vents in basement.

I had 2 vents in the basement and 1 vent in a bedroom. The average home loses 20 30 of the air blowing through it thanks to air duct leaks according to energy star. When you start closing vents in unused rooms you make the duct system more restrictive. Homeowners typically close vents in an attempt to redirect air away from unused spaces.

This will keep the inside of your air ducts frosty. The pressure increases and that means an ecm blower will ramp up to keep air flow up whereas a psc blower will move less air. Before closing any vents in your home. Closing vents worsens that leakage problem because the extra pressure forces moreair out of those leaks.

Check the temperature of the second floor rooms. Many homes lose even more. When you shut off the vents you can increase the pressure in your ductwork which can back up into your hvac and cause issues. 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.

Ensure that the air conditioning unit is on and wait one hour. But this is an average. Most homes don t have sealed ducts either so the higher pressure in the duct system will mean more duct leakage as shown below. If they still are warmer then the downstairs rooms close the downstairs vents more.

05 25 2010 at 01 24 am. Closing air vents is a popular strategy for adjusting air flow in the home but it s not necessarily a good one. 05 25 2010 01 14 am 2. If you close a vent in an unused space the system will cool and pump.

Unfortunately this will only lead to extra wear and tear. Last edited by wasserwareca. Ensure that your ducts are properly sealed and connected. I tried closing them all closing just the bedroom and closing just the basement.

That means you re paying 20 to 30 more than you should on your utility bills. The vent in the bedroom is bigger than most so it essentially equaled the 2 basement vents. If i close most of the air vents registers on the first floor will it divert more cold air to the second floor while keeping the first floor temp a bit higher. If you have a big house with lots of unused space central air conditioning systems may not the best solution because they are meant for heating or cooling the entire home.