567. Closing Vents in Rooms

As homeowners, we are constantly trying to find ways to reduce energy bills and save money. One of the most common tactics is to close the vents in rooms that are not in use. Now, although this may seem like a logical solution to save money on energy bills, it may not be the best idea. In fact, closing vents in unoccupied rooms can impact your H Vac system and cause long term damage. I mean, listen, it's a common misconception that closing vents in a room you're not occupying will save you money on your energy bill. I mean, we're not using room, right, Derek? I mean, close the vent off. There's no reason in wasting the heating and air going into this room. And no one's there. It can make sense, right? It may seem logical. It can actually cause more harm than good. Closing vents in a room reduces airflow, which can lead to several problems within your heating and cooling system. The system compensates for the closed vents by working harder to distribute the warm or cool air throughout the home. So let's say you have a three ton system, okay? You have a three ton system. You close off a couple rooms. One room. You close the one room, okay? So you have a two point none. You have a 2.9 ton duct system and a three ton unit. Well, your duct system didn't change because you closed that at the vent in the room. You close that vent, you still have a branch of ductwork going to that room. The air is still going to try to go to that room. What's going to happen? Eventually when it gets there, it's going to back up because you closed the vent, right? Does that make sense? You close the vent, so there has to go somewhere. It just doesn't disappear. This puts additional stress on your H Vac system, which will lead to increased wear and tear and higher energy consumption and ultimately higher energy bills. If it has to work harder, it's not working more efficient, right? Closed events can also impact the balance of your H Vac system. All systems are designed with a certain number of vents and registers for airflow. Closing vents and unoccupied rooms can lead to a imbalance of airflow within your system. The decreased airflow to close our rooms can cause high pressure in other areas of your home. So again, you close that vent off in a three ton system, what's going to happen? The air is going to back up. It's going to try to get in there. The air is going somewhere. Air is like water. It's going to go to the easiest place. It's going to go to easy place. But doing this will cause uneven heating or cooling and indirect quality problems and possibly increased humidity levels. Again, where's the area going? If you have a leaky duct system, it could be going under the house, in the attic, in the crawl space, right? So if it, if you have a 3 ton unit and it puts out 3 tons of air, but you don't have a 3 ton duct system because you closed off a vent, it's going to want to return back the air it produced to get out. So the air coming back to the unit, you want to make it as easy as possible to get back to unit. So what is it going to do? What is it going to do? Has to get there from somewhere. So where is it going to get it from? 3 tons out, 3 tons in, 3 tons in, 3, 10, 0. You close vents, you don't have 3 tons out, but you got 3 tens coming back in. So what's going to happen? It's going to get it from the crawl space, the attic, doors, windows, outlets, walls. It's going to get the air from something. It's going to get it from somewhere. The biggest thing you have to worry about is where is the air coming from and why is it not going through my filter before it gets back to my unit? Because if it goes through your filter, you can control what is in the air. If it doesn't go through that filter, you can. Closed events can cause a buildup of air pressure within the ductwork. This can lead to leaks in your ductwork, which can ultimately lead to poor indoor air quality and higher energy bills. Leaks in the ductwork also allow air to escape before reaching the desired destination or or temperature. Again putting additional stress on the system and wasting energy. It's not good. It's not worth it. Closing vents and unoccupied rooms can seem like a small thing, can seem like a small change, but it can have a big impact on your home's energy consumption. See all these pieces coming together now consider another solution. Maybe a program of thermostat to adjust the temperature in unoccupied rooms, using fans to help circulate air throughout the home. These solutions promote airflow and help maintain a healthy indoor air environment while while saving you money on your energy bill in the long run. So why are you closing rooms off? The doors need to be open, the rooms need to breathe, the air needs to get back to the unit. Hey, I've done it myself. Everybody, everybody has that junk room in the house, right? Everybody has that room that has stuff in it you want, you don't want to see, you don't want company to see. So you close the door. Is the air getting back to the unit? Is that door undercut enough? I mean, the perfect solution, the perfect solution will be zoning, where you have a thermostat in that room and you have a return in that room. The air is coming back to unit and that room stays comfortable. Not everyone, actually, not everyone, rarely do you see that happening. Rarely is that the case. But that is the best way to do it. That's the best way to get the airflow back to the unit, is the best way to keep door shut, if that's what you want to do. And then you can control the temperature in that room. And you don't have to worry about closing off a grill or closing off a vent because you have a thermostat in that room and the temperature in that room is accurate. And you can maintain comfort in that room. But that room at the end, the hall that's closed off cannot read the thermostat in the middle house. Those temperatures are never going to match. So be careful with your vents. Be careful when closing things off. Think about the long term solution, not the short term. But I wanted you to know, I wanted you to know the truth about closing vents in empty rooms.