An HVAC damper is a component that adjusts the amount of heated or cooled air entering a specific room or zone of the house. The airflow requirements of individual rooms may vary according to square footage as well as other factors. Adjusting the appropriate HVAC damper regulates airflow volume into a specified room or zone to effectively maintain the desired temperature in that area.
Duct Basics
A typical residential ductwork system is composed of separate supply and return ducts. The large rectangular central supply duct — known as the “trunk” — extends through the center of the house in the attic. Smaller ducts connect to the trunk duct and branch out to convey conditioned air into individual rooms or zones. Meanwhile, a separate central return duct pulls air out of rooms and conveys it back to the system air handler to be filtered, then cooled or heated again.
Where’s the HVAC Damper?
In most homes, dampers are adjustable to control airflow into a zone of the house or an individual room. Here’s what to look for:
- In most cases, the damper control is not visible nor accessible from within rooms and can only be accessed from the attic.
- A damper is typically located at the point where the smaller branch duct connects to the main, larger trunk.
- In some cases, the damper may be located further away along the branch duct and has to be tracked down.
- The damper typically appears as a handle on the side of the duct, which operates an internal metal disk that allows manual adjustment of airflow through the duct, ranging from fully shut to fully open.
Getting Balanced
Adjusting dampers to balance airflow into different zones or rooms helps maintain uniform temperatures in rooms and zones of varying size, eliminating hot spots and cold spots and improving system energy efficiency. A qualified HVAC technician will use devices to accurately measure airflow into a specific room or zone, then adjust dampers to provide the volume of conditioned air required to sustain comfort in all seasons.
Ask the professionals at Ace Hardware Home Services for more information about HVAC damper adjustment.
