Living in Arizona, cool indoor air during the summer is a precious commodity. Homeowners are continually trying to find ways to boost indoor comfort, while lowering cooling costs. Many homeowners will attempt to limit the square footage that needs to be cooled by closing doors to room and closing vents in unused rooms, in hopes that the cool air will reach the other desired areas and energy efficiency will be boosted. Unfortunately, this tactic is a myth and attempting this will have the opposite effect on your system’s energy efficiency.
When you close vents and doors, the corresponding rooms become pressurized. The rule we learned in grade school science class that most things will travel from areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration will occur in your home. In this case, the path of least resistance for your air may not funnel back into your home. When air is lost from your indoor spaces, the air conditioner will work hard to replace it, which can increase the percentage of air being drawn from 300 to 900. This will greatly sacrifice energy efficiency, causing your cooling bills to go up. Another issue is that when this air is replaced, it is typically drawn from places like the chimney or the furnace flue, which introduces unfiltered air into your home and will create a draft. The best solution for this is to leave the doors and vents in your home open, install transfer grills and cold air returns, or replace your existing doors with ones that allow airflow at the bottom.
For more information about the services we provide for air conditioning, Tolleson residents, contact the team at Plumbing & A/C Medic today!
