Because different rooms in your home have different requirements for cooled and heated air, balance dampers in the system allow adjustment to customize airflow. Installed out of sight in the HVAC ductwork that branches out to all rooms in the house, a balance damper is simply an internal door inside the duct that can be opened and closed to increase or decrease the flow of air from the air conditioner and the furnace into the rooms connected to that specific duct. The damper is usually controlled by an external handle on the outside of the duct.
When and Why Balance Dampers Are Needed
Here are just some of the factors that make balance dampers necessary in homes:
- Size of the room. One size does not fit all when it comes to airflow volume for various rooms in a house. The square footage of a room is a major factor in determining the ideal volume of heated and cooled air required to keep the room’s temperature ideal.
- Distance from the air handler. Without dampers to adjust airflow into branch ducts, rooms closest to the blower fan in the system air handler would receive excessive cooled or heated air, while rooms located farther away in the house would get too little air. Consistent temperatures in every room is achievable by adjusting dampers and airflow according to location.
- Upstairs vs. downstairs. Because heat naturally rises inside a house, the upper floor in a split-level or two-story home is hotter in summer and requires more air conditioning than rooms on the ground floor. Conversely, in winter, the upstairs usually requires less heating than rooms below. Adjusting dampers to balance airflow appropriately keeps both downstairs and upstairs comfortable in all seasons.
Getting in Balance
A qualified HVAC contractor utilizes specialized equipment to measure CFM (cubic feet per minute) of airflow volume entering rooms throughout the house. With that information, the contractor can adjust the damper to increase or decrease airflow appropriate to each individual room.
Ask the professionals at Ace Hardware Home Services for more information about the benefits of balance dampers to keep all the rooms in all parts of your home comfortable.
