Closing Return Air Vents In Summer

Closing them off is like holding a pillow over someones face.

Closing return air vents in summer.

It most likely has adjustable fins that allow you to direct the flow of air in the room and you can use the adjusting level to shut off a vent almost entirely. After all there s something more to be said for wasting energy and a lot of it. It is on the main floor that you probably do not want to close any vents. We think that by closing vents we are able to force the air to go where we want which is up.

Look at the nearest air vent in your room. Your furnace fan is moving cool air in the summer months. This process includes closing off your vents and doors but it also involves installing a sump pump a vapor barrier and bringing in a dehumidifier. Closing air vents is a popular strategy for adjusting air flow in the home but it s not necessarily a good one.

The popular notion has always been to shut off vents in rooms that you use infrequently. But will closing vents in unused rooms help cool your house better. With this in mind crawl space encapsulation will not work without closed vents. If you reduce the number of exit points for the cool air your furnace fan can no longer move as much air.

In the summer you want the cold air to remain and the hot air to be drawn out through the return registers. Hot air moves into the room at a lower rate leading to colder rooms or longer furnace on cycles. By adjusting your return registers you can optimize the airflow throughout your home to keep temperatures comfortable for you and your family. What are the benefits.

In general it is usually ok to close vents in a basement. Keeping the foundation vents open during the summer is a no brainer if you live in a climate with warm humid days and frequent summer storms. On balance this idea sounds like it has some merit if that is the air that is blocked from one room or rooms because of closed vents simply skips over to a room or rooms with open vents. We mentioned that one drawback to closing vents is a problem with heat exchange.

Homeowners typically close vents in an attempt to redirect air away from unused spaces. When airflow is reduced the air is not refreshed quickly enough for proper heat exchange to take place. These adjustments also work to reduce energy costs as well as your energy footprint. When we close vents we are actually restricting air flow.

The vents provide crucial air circulation that can not.