Ever wonder why you can’t seem to get enough airflow to one room or end of your home? Ever wonder why your basement is soooooo much colder than your main floor?
You don’t have to be uncomfortable. All you have to do is “balance” your system! Follow these guidelines and watch your comfort improve dramatically! Remember, air is just like water . . . it is going to go to the point of least resistance. So let’s push that air where we want it to go! You will gain air where you want it, and you will stop air from going where you don’t need it.
Summertime:
1. Close all registers completely in your basement. Your basement will be cooler than the main floor typically by 6-8 degrees anyway since it is mostly underground. It is okay to close them completely as a little will still leak out even with the newest of registers.
2. Close all registers on the main floor in rooms or areas that are not regularly used (i.e. hallways, guest baths, entryways, etc.).
These two steps alone will push a great deal of air to the other registers that are still open. Remember, you have not reduced the amount of air that is coming from your system. You have only pushed that air to other parts of your home. Don’t be hot in your bedrooms ever again!
Wintertime:
1. Open all registers completely in your basement. Your basement will be cooler than the main floor typically by 6-8 degrees anyway since it is mostly underground. Heat will rise, and you need the heat in your basement. Get as much heat down there as you can. Unless of course you never go down there, then you can leave them closed. But then it will be 10-12 degrees cooler if closed in the wintertime.
2. Close all registers on the main floor in rooms or areas that are not regularly used (i.e. hallways, guest baths, entryways, etc.). This applies to summer and winter since you do not spend any time in these areas. Push the heat where you really want it.
95% of the time these small and easy steps solve a lot of issues for a home’s comfort. This assumes the Manual J Load Calculation performed by your installing contractor was done accurately, and most quality contractors do.