Should I Close Air Vents If I’m Not Using a Room?

One of the easiest ways to control how much air flow moves into a room is to adjust the air vents. They come with dials to open and close down the amount of air that passes through. Why shouldn’t you use these convenient tools to close down air vents if you’re not using a room?

In short, it seems like a great way to control how warm or cool a room is. It seems like it might even save you money in the long run – why condition an entire home if you’re not using every room in the house? 

What happens when you close air vents

When your HVAC system was installed, it was put into place with efficiency in mind. An HVAC technician took into account a variety of factors – house size, lot size, position of the house, flow of the home – and placed vents and registers in appropriate locations throughout the home. Air flows evenly throughout the system, exiting into every room in your home. 

When you shut down a vent, it prevents the air from exiting, but it doesn’t prevent air from flowing to that region. It builds, looking for a way to escape. In effect, it causes congestion inside the ductwork, until eventually, it finds someplace to go. 

Over time, that can add into leaks in the joints of the system. If it can’t find a vent to flow through, it will look for spaces to release anywhere. That creates pressure throughout the system, which eventually can lead back to the blower within your furnace. Stress builds as it continues to try and push air that simply has nowhere to go. 

Creating a zoned system

The air vents won’t create an air-tight seal. Even if you close the vent all the way down, it still allows a certain amount of conditioned air to flow through the vent. Your room won’t be the same temperature as other rooms in your home, but they’ll never be totally void of all air flow. 

Dampers inside the duct work to control air flow. With a zoned HVAC system, it utilizes those dampers to give homeowners even more control over how their home is conditioned. It gives you the benefit of controlling different zones inside your home with separate thermostats, giving you the option of keeping portions warmer or colder throughout the year. 

Opening or closing vents isn’t addressing the problem. Most HVAC systems installed in older homes are designed with one zone, one system. Efficiency comes from working the system as it’s intended. 

If you truly want different controls in different regions, creating a zoned HVAC system gives you that control.  

Want to learn more about installing a zoned HVAC system in your home? Give us a call today.