Balancing your HVAC can save you a lot of headaches related to replacing your HVAC system or not getting adequate heating or cooling in various rooms of your home. But you can also save a lot of money, especially when you balance the HVAC yourself. So how do you do air balancing HVAC in a house?
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You can do air balancing HVAC in a house by following a few basic steps. First, you will want to predict how much air is circulating in each room, diagnose any issues preventing the correct amount from entering or exiting, and fix any problems you detect before they worsen.
This article will examine how you do air-balancing HVAC in a house and what steps you can take to ensure it goes as smoothly as possible. Read along to see that you can air-balance HVAC in a house with just a few simple steps!
1. Walk Around and Feel for Cold or Hot Spots
You should first troubleshoot when deciding if you need to do air balancing on your HVAC in a house. This process means you should go from room to room in your home and see which rooms do not feel like the desired temperature.
Some signs that you might need to balance your HVAC in your home include:
- One of your rooms feels hotter than the rest.
- A particular part of your house feels much colder.
- It takes a long time for the warm or cold air to reach an area of your home.
If any of these signs sound familiar, it might be time to balance the HVAC in your home. There also could be other things going on that may or may not be related. For example, if your damper is bleeding air, you may have another problem, as discussed in this helpful article! But the first line of defense when trying to figure out why you have hot or cold spots is to balance the HVAC in your house.
Read: Why HVAC Damper Keeps Getting Stuck Closed?
2. Calculate the Air Changes
Before you begin any serious work balancing the HVAC in a house, you will want to take some crucial measurements. It is essential to do this because you will learn how much work and what type needs to be done. For example, determining the air changes is one of the critical measurements you must take before performing any work balancing the HVAC in a house.
Calculating the air changes involves figuring out how much air is being pumped in and out of a room. This process is an important indicator of the health of the HVAC in your home.
If you have determined that there is not enough airflow being pumped to one room or another by the HVAC, then you know it is time to start taking action. Follow a few simple steps, and you will be on your way to knowing if the air changes are ideal and continuing to balance your HVAC in your house.
Read: How To Tell If HVAC Zone Damper Is Normally Closed Or Normally Open?
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3. Check Your Air Filter
One of the most straightforward fixes when you need to balance the HVAC in your house is to check the air filter! If you have used your HVAC for an extended period of time and never changed the filter in your central unit, this could be the culprit for not getting enough heat or air into an area of your home.
How Often Should I Change the Air Filter In My HVAC?
You might wonder how often you need to change the air filter in your home. Unfortunately, there is not only one answer that applies to every home. Some of the conditions that can determine how frequently you need to be changing your air filter are:
- How much pollution there is in the area you live in.
- Whether or not you have animals in or around your house.
- If you keep your windows open a lot or not.
- The type of air filter that you use.
Regardless of these factors, it is a good idea to check your air filter frequently, and it should always be one of the first things you look at when you balance the HVAC in your home. Ensuring that you have a clean filter is one of the more straightforward solutions when balancing the HVAC in your house.
Read: Why HVAC Zone Damper Actuator Making A Clicking Noise? How To Troubleshoot?
4. Check for Any Gaps Along the Duct Work
When you are in your basement or looking at the HVAC system in your home, it is a good idea to look around at your ductwork and ensure there are no gaps or leaks from where they attach to the main unit.
It is common in many homes that the metal chambers are connected to wood, which is not always going to give an adequate seal to prevent air from being lost. This excellent video by Columbia Water and Light shows how a simple roll of tape can help you balance your HVAC system!
Read: Should An HVAC Zone Damper Bleed Air?
5. Adjust the Dampers
The most important aspect of air balancing your HVAC is to adjust the dampers. For example, some homes have HVAC systems installed without any dampers. In this case, you would want to hire someone to install dampers for you or attempt to do it yourself.
But in most homes, the ducts have dampers you can adjust, generally with the turn of a knob from the exterior. Opening or closing the dampers is similar to moving the register to increase or decrease heat or air conditioning in a room.
The advantage of adjusting the dampers instead of the heat register is that you close or open the duct near the HVAC unit. This proximity gives a more efficient airflow than waiting to block it with the register.
If you are unsure which dampers should be open or closed, you can perform tests or hire a professional to test the ducts for you. This will give you more accurate results when balancing the HVAC in your home.
Read: How Reliable Multi-Zone HVAC Systems Are?
6. Examine the Blower Fan for Any Problems
One final step you will want to take when balancing the HVAC in your house is to ensure that the blower fan is working correctly. Plenty of problems can arise with your blower fan, preventing it from working correctly.
Some common issues that can affect your blower include:
- Excessive build-up of dirt, dust, or grime.
- Weather damage impacts the blower fan.
- The fan can overheat for various reasons.
If any of these problems affect your blower fan, it can affect the balancing of your HVAC.
Here is an excellent video from AC Service Tech LLC on troubleshooting the blower fan while you balance your HVAC system:
Final Thoughts
Balancing your HVAC is vital to the health of the air quality in your home. You will get cleaner air and be able to live more comfortably in any room in your house if you properly perform maintenance on your heating and air conditioning system.
It may seem somewhat complicated, but if you follow a few steps we outline, you will be on your way to understanding how to balance the HVAC unit in your house. Try it yourself, or bring in a professional and see all the benefits of frequently balancing your HVAC in your house.