Aiming and Redirecting Vents for Greater Efficiency

Free airflow through your home, from the air-supply vents to the return grilles, plays a vital role in cooling and heating efficiency and home comfort. If your vents aren’t aimed or redirected for optimal comfort, you may end up paying more each month on your energy bills. To maximize airflow efficiency and to feel more comfortable, keep reading to learn about aiming, restricting and redirecting vents in your Central Florida home.

Aiming and Redirecting Vents

Once return airflow is cooled or heated by your A/C or furnace, the conditioned air is blown through supply ducts that connect to your floors, ceilings and/or walls. Air-supply vents cover the holes to better distribute supply air to your living spaces.

Air vents may distribute fixed airflow, two-way adjustable airflow or four-way adjustable airflow types. If your vents are adjustable, you can position the blades to enhance comfort, depending on the season and location or your vents.

For example, if your vents are located high on walls or on the ceiling, direct airflow from the vents may feel too cool no matter the thermostat temperature setting due to the wind-chill factor.

Restricting Airflow

If you have rooms in your home that are sitting empty most of the time, you may consider closing the air vents to prevent airflow into those rooms. However, you must also consider factors resulting from closed vents:

• Stale rooms: Mold and mildew are big problems for many Central Florida homeowners. Limiting airflow to certain rooms in your home may contribute to stale and musty odors.
• Static pressure: By closing vents, you increase the airflow to the other air vents in your home. This results in an increase in static pressure placed on those air ducts. Over time, the duct connections may loosen.
• Zoning system: The best way to cool or heat specific rooms of your home any time you please is with a zoning system. A zoning system uses automatic duct doors that open and close to allow or restrict airflow based on your lifestyle.

To learn more about redirecting vents and HVAC efficiency, please contact Rinaldi’s Energy Solutions.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Orlando, Florida and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).

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