Aiming and Redirecting Vents for Greater Comfort and Efficiency

If you have a central air conditioner, then your home comfort relies on well-designed ducts — and well-managed air vents. While these unobtrusive fixtures may not seem like much, they actually play a big part in managing your indoor airflow. Here’s what you need to know about opening, closing, and redirecting vents in your Portland, Oregon, home:

• Your A/C and furnace probably share the same vents. This can be tricky: remember, cool air sinks, while warm air rises. Vents near your baseboards will be more efficient at warming your home during the winter, while vents higher on the wall or ceiling will be more effective at cooling your home through the summer. You can use a ceiling fan to gently draw air upwards or push it downwards to manage your indoor temperature better.
• You can close or block off vents to rooms you don’t want to cool or heat — but use this sparingly. Vents often come with their own shutters which can be closed, or you can purchase a set of magnetic covers to form a more airtight seal. This prevents conditioned air from entering rooms you don’t want cooled. But watch out: those unless you seal the return air vents, those rooms will still deliver warm air to your A/C, which can raise your cooling costs. And sealing off too many rooms changes the air pressure through your entire duct system, meaning more wear and tear on your fan motor and duct seams.
• You’re not stuck with the vents you have. The small grates have some angled fluting which looks like it’s used to direct airflow, but the impact from those small angled pieces is actually minimal. Replacing the vent covers with decorative vent covers can be an inexpensive way to beautify your home environment.

If you have questions about the airflow in your home, about redirecting vents, or about managing your home comfort, don’t hesitate to call us up at Roth Home & Cooling!