How Duct Dampers And Your Thermostat Can Balance Your Home's Cooling
Does your home have rooms that are not getting cool when the air conditioner is on during the summer? While you may think this problem is due to your air conditioner, it is actually a problem that could be caused by the HVAC system dampers and thermostat. It is important to understand how these two things operate so that you can balance the cold air in your house.
What Are Duct Dampers?
The air that comes from the blower motor doesn't push air through each section of ductwork at the exact same speed. Those ductwork branches that are near the blower can bring colder air to a room than the branches and rooms that are far away. There are dampers located in the ductwork that help redirect air to all the branches, so they must be considered in your cooling needs. They are typically small screws or wing nuts in the ductwork that control a damper inside that you cannot see.
How Can You Adjust Duct Dampers?
After you are aware of what you are looking for, adjusting the dampers is quite easy to do to achieve balanced temperature.
Start by measuring the temperature in every room after the air condition has been running for a little bit. This will give you a base reading of where each room is currently at. Your goal will be to find a balance between all of the hot and cold rooms within your home.
Make adjustments to the dampers by slightly closing the ones leading to your coldest rooms. This will help redirect the air down the ductwork and go down the other branches. By making the pathway slightly smaller, it will hopefully make the cold rooms slightly warmer, and cool down those hot rooms.
Keep going down the ductwork, starting closest to the blower, and adjusting the room connected to each branch so that the temperature is even. It will take some time to perform the temperature readings and make adjustments, but those dampers can make a big difference in your comfort
How Can You Better Control Your Thermostat?
Most thermostats only read the temperature of the rooms that your thermostat is located in. if you still have a room that is warmer than the rest, consider getting a smart thermostat that as remote temperature sensors. For example, put a remote temperature sensor in your bedroom, and you can adjust the temperature at night in the place where you are spending your time.
Contact an AC service for more help.