In order to keep your home at a comfortable temperature your furnace or HVAC system works hard to push air into the home. But sometimes rooms are different temperatures and when one room is comfortable the other is not. The problem could be attributed to room balancing and it’s a common problem for many home owners. They may not even realize they have this problem however. In this article I’ll discuss room balancing and let you know what you can do to have a more balanced air flow in your Michigan home.
Balanced Rooms Using HVAC in Michigan
If your home feels warmer or cooler in one room rather than another you may be facing a balancing problem in your home. This is especially true when all the doors are closed in your home. During times when the doors are closed you’ll likely find that the rooms are much different in temperature and if this is the case then you need to address the HVAC problem of balancing rooms.
How Can I Tell if My Rooms Are Balanced?
The best way to tell if your homes rooms are balanced is by checking the temperature in each room after the HVAC system has had time to reach temperature. So once the HVAC unit has warmed the home then check the temperature in each room when the doors are closed. It’s important that all doors are closed during this check. If you have one room that is warmer than the others chances are the air pressure in that room will be higher. If you open the door and the temperature corrects itself you may be able to increase air flow from that room by installing a door vent or increasing the gap at the bottom of the door by cutting the door.
A great way to check if your rooms are balanced is by giving it a ribbon test. Hold a light ribbon from your hand while the HVAC system is running. In each room make sure the door has been closed for five minutes. Crack the door open and hold the ribbon in the crack. If the ribbon blows like a fan is on and does not hang straight down you have a balancing problem. The more severe the ribbon moves the more severe your problem.
So What Does It Mean if My Rooms Aren’t Balanced?
Your home’s HVAC works based on a balanced system. In today’s more energy efficient HVAC systems it’s very important to have balanced rooms. Since variable speed fan motors sometimes deliver warmer air to rooms it can really throw off the system when rooms are balanced properly. You’ll still be able to heat and cool your home using an HVAC system however, you’ll lose lots of the energy efficiency of the unit.
What Can I Do About Balancing Problems?
Increasing the air flow between rooms that have a problem is key. One way is by leaving the door open at all times. Another way is by adding pass thru vents in the door or adjoining wall. The goal is to get better air flow to rooms that have the HVAC balanced rooms problem.
