Understanding Air Balancing And Top Ways To Fix An Unbalanced Residential AC System

If you look through your home's blueprints, you will come across the architect's recommendations for your residential air conditioning system. These recommendations include the size of registers to put in the different rooms, the layout of the ducts, and a Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM) number for each room, among other details.

Residential AC professionals will refer to the CFM number when designing your system. Succinctly put, it is the velocity of air a room requires to heat up or cool effectively. A residential air condition system that doesn't meet the specified CFM will operate at reduced efficiency, and you will notice hot and cold spots throughout your home. Reduced efficiency will also have your system working much harder, which means higher energy bills at the end of the month.

Save on energy bills, and enjoy the comfort that comes with having well-balanced residential air conditioning by doing the following.

Look at the Ductwork 

You can increase the airflow in your home when you re-configure your ducts. You can always add or remove the air supply and return vents, depending on your circumstances. Another option is to replace the existing pips with properly sized counterparts. 

Air moves faster in smaller ducts, and as such, you may be able to meet the specified CFM when you replace the large ducts with smaller ones. Your residential AC experts have the expertise to size your ducts properly.

Also, check for damage to your ducts. Leaks in your ducts will reduce the velocity of air carried around your spaces. Re-sealing and adding insulation to under-insulated ducts will also greatly benefit your system.

Adjust or Add a Damper

Dampers direct airflow from your residential air conditioning system to the various rooms. Some ducts come with dampers, and in this case, you will only need to adjust these dampers to ensure the desired amount of air goes to a room. If not, your AC technician can add these dampers and help with air balancing.

Check the Fan 

Inspecting your fan is one of the things your residential AC services technician will do to help resolve your air balancing issues. They will check the direction and speed settings. 

For optimal air circulation of warm air, the fan should go clockwise at a low speed during the cooler months. On the other hand, the fan should go in a counterclockwise direction, at a speed that's just right during the warmer months.

If you are experiencing air balancing problems with your residential air conditioning system, have a professional diagnose and resolve the issues with the highlighted measures, among others.

To learn more, contact a company like Metro Express Service.