Signs of poor air flow
- There are extremely hot and cold spots throughout your home. This is often one of the first obvious signs of HVAC related issues.
- There is a presence of pressure imbalance. You might be experiencing door slamming on its own, strange whistling noises and areas where you feel kind of drafty. These are air pressure symptoms caused by HVAC low airflow.
- You feel like air is just squeezed from nowhere. There is no or little air coming from the air conditioner. When this happens, you realize that there is something wrong and you have to act right away.
- Have you ever experienced your AC system suddenly blows warm air? Now you know that there is something wrong and that you have to do something!
Below we evaluate at the 5 most common causes of low airflow in a home.
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Extremely dirty furnace filters
The dirt thickness of the furnace filters should be taken as seriously as the ductwork and fan speed is designed and set. The pressure of the moving air changes as the thickness caused by the dirty filter increases.
Nowadays, quality indoor air equipment is a highly-discussed topic. A larger part of the conversation constitutes mostly about furnace filters. These topics are rated by MERV or Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value that ranges from 1-16. MERV rating works best if it has a higher rating. The higher the filter MERV rating, the fewer dirt and dust particle can pass through it. Some of the common filter contaminants tested are pollen dust, bacteria, tobacco residue or smoke, dust mites, and mold spores.
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Duct and home leakage
A statistics of over 90% of residential homes in North America have air systems that are either has small holes and cracks that lessens the comfort level and tends to have an increasing cost on heating and cooling. Typically, the duct system has a leakage between 35-50% leakage. Which tells us that 35-50% of the air meant to flow to a certain area does not make it to its intended space.
For the efficiency of residential energy, if the ductwork is not located in an attic or crawlspace where there are huge energy affected due to the leakage and oftentimes this is ignored. The common reason is the air leaking in the inside of the home, this should not be a big deal because it is still inside the airconditioned area, but still, this affects the level of comfort due to the heating or cooling of the home.
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Air Vents Are Not Enough
A typical functioning HVAC system is built to a closed loop system that produces a certain amount of air and distributes throughout the home and returning the same amount of air.
Each space getting the same amount of air should also redistribute the same amount of air to the HVAC system. If redistributing it is insufficient, then the area becomes pressured hence making the airflow distribution limited.
This concept is similar to blowing into a straw: You can blow as much air as the straw can take as long as both ends are open. But as you put a lid on one end, the air that can pass through the straw stops. If you close one end and blow, the amount of air you blow it becomes finite.
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Oversized Ducts and Undersized Vents
Air flows and moves through the ductwork and is designed to maintain the correct static pressure. If the ductwork is larger, the air pressure will drop and will not reach its intended destination. Often times, the ductwork is too small, it causes the limit to the point that the intended amount of airflow is not hitting its intended designation.
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Improperly Installed, Cruched, Blocks and Disconnected Duct Run
We see these all the time and it may seem like a no-brainer. Every duct in a home should be constructed and installed to give a certain amount of air to space. Any instance that changes the configuration of that ductwork changes its capacity to deliver the right amount of air.
When the installed ductwork is installed in a way that it restricts the airflow, then space may never get the supposed amount of air. The longer the air has to go through, the more it turns and bends, the more turbulence is possible and it causes a little less air when it tries to go to where it intends to go.
other valuable readings:
How to Clean Out Your HVAC Duct Before Winter
Ducted Heating Installation – Understand the Workings and Major Benefits
Image Credit: Pixabay
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