No matter how much you rely on your HVAC system, the air balance in your home may be something you’ve never given much thought to. However, poor air balance is a common problem that you’ve likely noticed at one point or another, whether in your own home or elsewhere.
Recognizing Poor Air Balance
The most obvious sign of poor air balance is finding that when you’re using your HVAC system, one area of your home ends up feeling significantly hotter or colder than your desired temperature, even if the rest of your home is the temperature you like. Another sign would be that some rooms seem to take an excessively long time to reach the desired temperature, even when others get there much sooner.
However, if you are experiencing equally poor performance throughout your home, this would not be considered a sign of poor air balance. In such cases, you may also have air balance issues, but there is likely another issue with your system that may need to be identified and addressed by an HVAC engineer.
What Are The Causes?
HVAC systems are balanced when they’re installed, but if this is not done correctly, the system will remain out of balance. Even correctly installed and balanced systems can fall out of balance over time though. This may be due to manual adjustment of the systems vents and dampers or it could be caused by other changes to your home.
These changes could be major adjustments such as extensions to your property or the installation or removal of interior walls, but seemingly minor changes can also have a noticeable impact. These more minor changes may even be as simple as changes to windows, doors, or even the furniture and layout of a room.
Why Dealing With Poor Air Balance Is Important
Poor air balance can be an annoyance if you move to another room in your home, only to find it’s too hot or too cold, and regardless of what temperature you set your system at, they aren’t both comfortable. This isn’t the only downside, however, as poor air balancing can also lead to an increased demand on your HVAC system and higher energy bills.
How To Improve Your Air Balance
Fortunately, there are some simple steps you can take to quickly improve the air balance in your home.
Check For Obstructions
If something is physically obstructing some of the vents of your HVAC system, it will seriously hamper its ability to heat or cool that room. Fortunately, this is an issue that is very easy to solve, as simply moving the obstruction can help bring your air balance and performance back to normal.
In order to avoid this happening again in future, it’s worth paying attention when moving furniture or decorating a room to make sure it won’t block any vents.
Manually Adjust Vents and Dampers
Although careless adjustment of your air conditioning system can lead to suboptimal air balance, careful adjustment can help to remedy the issue. Many vents are adjustable, allowing you to easily change the amount of air that flows into each room, and adjusting these is another simple way you can attempt to improve the air balance throughout your home.
Dampers, which are valve-like components in the pipes of your HVAC system, can also be adjusted to control airflow within the system, having a similar effect and, in combination with the adjustable vents, allowing the air balance to be finely controlled.
Get Expert Support
Although you can improve your air balance yourself to some degree, it can be tough to get the results you want. Calling in an HVAC expert like Hoot to help with balancing your system can make things much easier and is the only way to know your home has a truly optimal air balance. Call Hoot today at 410-658-6564 to schedule your appointment.
