When the weather gets colder, your heating bills tend to go up thanks to Calgary’s freezing temperatures. If you’re looking to save money on these bills, you might be tempted to block a few HVAC vents in your home that are in areas that you don’t use much. However, there are important reasons to avoid doing that.
Increased Wear and Tear
When you block off vents in your home, this makes your heating system work harder to warm up your home. Having to run longer increases the amount of wear and tear on your HVAC system, which can force you to have to replace it sooner than you expected. As it runs, the components inside it gradually wear down from overuse. Even if you don’t have to replace your heating system this winter, you could still end up needing repairs if it breaks down. This means you’ll have to go without heat in your home until you can have it fixed.
Higher Energy Usage
Blocking HVAC vents might seem like a way to cut down on your energy usage, but it can actually increase it. Blocking the return air supply, for example, makes it harder for your HVAC system to pull air through. Rather than pulling air through the return, your heating system will pull air from gaps around your home’s doors, windows, and walls. When this happens, your heating system has to work harder to keep your home warm enough in winter, resulting in higher energy usage and higher energy bills.
Carbon Monoxide Leaks
When you close off vents while running your heating system, this causes the system to retain a higher amount of heat inside. This could have the potential risk to cause cracks to form, which can result in a carbon monoxide leak if you have a gas furnace. This dangerous gas can leak inside your home through large cracks in your heating system, putting you and your family at serious risk of life-threatening health problems.
If you need additional information on HVAC vents, please contact Arpi’s Industries. Our team provides reliable HVAC services for homeowners in the Calgary area.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Calgary, Alberta about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide.
