Does Closing Heating and Cooling Vents in Unused Rooms Reduce Energy Consumption?

Despite the comfort provided by the HVAC system at home, doesn’t your heart skip a beat while paying the heavy utility bills?

Most homeowners’ does.

Axing Energy Bills

Homeowners are rarely ready to compromise on the comfort provided by these appliances; notwithstanding the lengthy utility bills. However, they deploy other ways to axe the energy bills. The common ones among them are insulating doors and windows, purchasing energy efficient appliances, using the ceiling fan during the day, adjusting the thermostat and more so.

Yet another way of saving on energy consumption is closing the vents in unused rooms. Sounds rational; as a decrease in the square footage to be heated and cooled will certainly reduce the burden on the system.

Why increase energy consumption and throw money unnecessarily?

Closing Vents in Unused Rooms

So, let’s see if closing the vents in unused rooms serves the homeowners’ purpose.

On the surface, closing vents of unused rooms makes sense.

However, you will be surprised to know that this is a myth.

The Truth

The HVAC system does not work like this. It is designed to heat or cool a specified square footage. So, reducing the square footage to be heated or cooled does not make any difference in the energy consumed.

In fact, the converse is true.

Air flow when restricted increases the pressure in the duct work. Trapped air finds a way to flow out. The air lost is then replaced by the HVAC system. The system therefore works harder for a consistent air flow. The work load results in increased energy consumption. What’s more, the air replaced by the system comes through the chimney or furnace flue. It therefore results in poor quality indoor air, which can cause respiratory diseases.

Closing the vents also results in an increase in heating and ac repair costs. Here’s how.

As mentioned above, the HVAC system works harder due to additional pressure. This results in early wear and tear of the parts like the fan, motor and others. Moreover, the additional pressure in the ductwork may result in a leakage or damage in the ductwork. This calls for frequent repairs and thus, increased repair costs.

So, closing the vents of the extra guest rooms, bathrooms and others will not help you axe the utility bills.

So, for better maintenance and longevity of the HVAC system, keep the doors of unused rooms open.

Zoning

However, if you do have a few unused rooms in the house, you can purchase the zone HVAC systems. These systems use an advanced thermostat, which allows homeowners to set different temperatures for different zones (rooms). So, you can set appropriate temperatures for different rooms, to consume energy diligently. You can avoid shutting off the air completely in unused rooms, but can maintain a higher or lower temperature to control energy consumption.

Moreover; this practice will also ensure proper maintenance and infrequent repairs of the HVAC system.

The author is an HVAC repairer by profession and love to write articles on this topic. In this article, he has highlighted the things that one needs to consider when hiring professionals for heating and ac repair in Pembroke.