This content was created by Derek Cole. This content was uploaded by Derek Cole. This is a podcast episode titled "432. Hot Attic and Closing Vents" (Derek Cole Podcast) published July 7, 2022. The host Derek Cole answers a listener question (Speaker A) about an overheating bedroom under a hot attic, explaining HVAC concepts and giving practical advice: do not close or block vents, check attic insulation and insulated flex duct, and call a qualified HVAC professional to diagnose and fix air infiltration/ducting issues. The episode also includes typical podcast call-to-action items (share, rate/review, social handles, and website).
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I'm Derek Cole, host of the Derek Cole Podcast, and we believe in taking the time to explain how things work for your air at home or your business. Let's get into today's episode. Please listen closely and maybe even take some notes so you can remember these insights of home comfort and energy savings and share this episode with three of your friends because we all need to share better ways to be more comfortable at home. Be sure to tag me or DM me on Instagram Derek Mcole so I can say hi. Thanks again for listening and let's begin.
So I wanted to answer a question from our YouTube channel. So the question was okay, so we have a small, small vent in a bedroom that sits right below a very hot attic. The attic has no windows to let out the hot air, so the bedroom get very, very hot in the summer. The vent in the room does not work, however, it is a small vent of cool air due to the attic being so hot. My husband is convinced closing the vents or at least covering them up will help. Do you have any suggestions beyond using a fan to help cool the bedroom without closing or covering vents? Also, why did they make vents that close if you're not supposed to close vents? Very good question. So a couple things and the reason I want to do it this way versus typing out the answer to the question is because it's got a couple layers to it. So first of all, hot attic insulation is your best friend. So make sure your insulation is good. The attic, make sure you have the proper insulation. Make sure it's evenly distributed throughout the attic and it's not piled up in one spot or another. Make sure it's covering that bedroom because it sounds like you're having an infiltration problem of heat from the attic into the living space. That should not be an issue. Insulation is the it's very efficient, inexpensive way to build that barrier between the hot attic and the room you're trying to keep cool or cold attic or cold crawl space and you know, vice versa. So make sure you have the proper amount of insulation in the attic, in that room above that room so that heat stops coming in to that room. So check on that first. Second, you're right. You should never, ever, ever close vents. So what does it make it where you can close them? Well, a couple things. One, some folks use the vents to balance out the air in the home. When we install a duct system, we actually install balancing dampers in the duct so you can adjust it from the duct system and not from the grill. We keep the grills open as they should be. I mean, even if you go to some of the big box stores and look at some of the decorative grills or the more expensive grills, very few of them have dampers in them where you can close them. But regardless, I would not close the dampers because that's not what your system is made for. Your system is made to heat and cool the home. You have enough runs of dirt work to get the CFM out that the system produces to keep your home comfortable. Same way you should never block a vent. So if you were, example, if you were to do a smoke test, say it was in the floor and you're doing tests on a wall. First of all, most vents you see are angled towards the outside wall because it's trying to handle the spot of the home where the heat or the cool air comes in, infiltrates, and that's the outside walls. Very few times will you see them on the inside wall unless it's a older home or even, or a mobile home. And those folks usually aren't comfortable because it's not attacking the outside wall. That is where your infiltrations come from, the window, the wall. Whatever's on that outside is. Whatever's on that perimeter is what the vent or AC unit or heating unit is trying to attack and trying to condition that space. So if you did a smoke test on that vent on the floor, you got a wall right here. Could be window, it doesn't matter. You'll see, you see the air come up, it'll hit the ceiling almost like a mushroom. You'll see it come up, hit the ceiling, and then curtain down and condition that wall. So you see it come up, hit the ceiling, wall up, ceiling wall. That's why plastic diffusers, which blows the air into the middle of the room is not a good idea because it's drawn to again, it's trying to condition, attack the outside wall. So you should never close your vents, you should never use plastic diffusers, you should never block your vents because it's getting in the way of it's doing its job, trying to condition the outside wall. So that's why you never want to close them. Your home, your AC system is made for the proper amount of grills in the house, the airflow in the house. And you start messing with that, you start messing with comfort. And you could potentially, I mean, if you close the vent, it could back up into the system, cause the pressure issue. And then it's having to work harder to get the air to where it needs to go because it's going to get the air out. If you close the vent, it's still going to get there out somewhere. It could be in the attic, could be in the crawl space. The air is going to get relieved somehow. So you want to make it like water. You want to make it as easy as possible to go where you want it to go and not where you don't want to go. Kind of similar to the return in your house. The return in your house. You want to get the air it needs to get easily and you want that conditioned clean air coming back to unit. You don't want to restrict that in any way because then again it's going to get there. It needs, it's going to suck it from the crawl space, from the attic, from outside. You want to be the conditioned air that comes through your filter. So you never want to restrict airflow. I hope that answers your question. Couple things I would do again, don't close the vents. Never close vents. And make sure you have the proper insulation in the attic in that space. I would even, you know, check the flex duct. That's probably what's going to the vent in your bedroom is a piece of flex. Make sure that's insulated. Make sure you have the insulation attic around it. If you have both of those, I would contact the H Vac professional to come see what's going on with your system. Because you need to be comfortable. I mean this system is built for you to be comfortable. So if something is wrong, it needs to be addressed, it needs to be handled. And you need a professional to handle. You don't need. I'm not talking about a cousin's best friend's uncle's brother can look at it. This needs to be a full might be that person but it needs to be a full time professional H Vac person that is good at design and good at solving problems. Because this is a problem. You should not be uncomfortable anywhere in your home. And there's always a solution. But we have to find out what the best solution is for that situation. Thanks for the question. Keep me, keep me informed, keep replying, whatever platform you want to, but let me know what's going on with this system, what you found and if you contact a professional, let me know what they have said to the solution because I'm interested to see what the solution is going to be.
Okay. I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Derek Cole Podcast. Tell some people about this episode. It's on each of us really to spread the better ways to be healthier and more comfortable in our homes and workspaces. I'm asking you to be the dealer of positive and life changing messages in your circle of influence. Take a screenshot right now and share the screenshot and the link to this episode with three of your friends. To today Share on social media use the hashtag Healthy Home. That's Healthy Home. We are always giving away shout outs prizes to our community. If you would like to help me personally then please rate and review on Apple Podcasts. Give us some stars. Leave a review because that stuff actually does help and I read all the comments. So my last thought for today please remember you deserve better air at home and greater comfort at home. Don't settle for being uncomfortable for your heating air every single month. We are so thankful for having you here in our community and be sure to go deeper with us at simmons1hour.com.
