| Home Energy Savings -- Uneven Temperatures and Controlling Air-Flow |
From "Home Energy Savings"
episode HES-104 |
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Having uneven temperatures in various rooms throughout your home is not only uncomfortable, it's also costly. Persons in a cold room turn up the thermostat, making the well-heated rooms too hot. In the summer, they crank up the AC to cool off a hot room -- and everyone else freezes. Constant and inefficient adjustments on your thermostat wastes energy -- and money. There are some simple solutions to this problem. Start by adjusting the dampers found inside the duct system. The goal is to achieve a balanced flow of hot or cool air into each area of the house. In our demonstration, adjustments were being made in the fall, so the objective was to achieve even heating.
Adjusting Dampers and Registers
- First, check the dampers in the ducts (figure A) leading to the problem area or room. Make sure all the dampers are open. Most dampers are adjusted with a small screw and wing-nut (figure B) that holds the damper in place. Loosen the wing-nut and -- with a screwdriver -- turn the screw to open the damper. When open, the screw-slot is usually parallel with the duct. Wait a few hours to see whether the temperature throughout the home balances out.
- If the temperatures are still uneven, try partially closing the dampers in the ducts that lead to the warmest areas -- usually the rooms closest to the furnace. This should serve to force more warm air to the coldest rooms. Don't close the dampers too completely, as this may adversely affect the furnace efficiency.
- If your home doesn't have dampers in the ductwork, you can still control the flow of air by adjusting the registers in each room (figure C).
- Start by opening the register in the problem room all the way. Then partially close the registers in the other rooms to the home. With an adjustment or two, you should be able to achieve a more balanced flow.
- Keep return air grills, hot-air registers, radiators and baseboards clear of furniture, rugs and drapes (figures D and E) to allow free movement of air.
- When it comes to balancing the flow of air, keep in mind that if your home has two or more levels, you can make seasonal adjustments. In the summer, it's harder to keep an upper level cool because heat rises. To help cool the upstairs, partially close your lower-level registers (figure F): this will force more of the AC upstairs. In the winter, do the opposite.
Installing a Booster Fan in a Duct A duct booster fan (figure G) is installed inside the duct and literally pushes heated or cooled air into a problem room. These devices are fairly easy to install. In order to get the most efficient performance from a duct booster, locate it near the outlet end of a duct. Important: Booster fans are designed to fit various standard-sized metal ducts. When you order the fan, make sure it matches the size and type of ductwork you have.
Materials (figure H): Duct booster fan
Drill and drill-bits
Crimper
Screwdriver
Metal-snips
Tape measure
Gloves and safety goggles
Steps: - Identify the section of duct that isn't delivering enough air to a particular room.
- To separate the section of duct, release the clamp holding it in place (figure I) and remove any holding-screws.
- Pull the section of duct out and carefully lower it (figure J).
- Using the motor as a guide, mark the length of duct that you need to cut off (figure K).
- The duct needs a seat for the motor housing, so cut the duct 1" back from the mark. Use tin-snips to cut the duct (figure L), and follow the marks right around the duct.
- Crimp the cut end of the duct all the way around (figure M). This allows the motor housing to slide easily onto the duct.
- Slide the motor into the duct (figure N).
- Drill two holes in the metal, and secure the motor with the screws (figure O).
- Reinstall the section of duct with the new motor in place (figure P).
- Secure the duct with the screws and the clamp that was removed earlier.
- Finish up by reinstalling the holding screws (figure Q).
- With the blower mounted, the next step is to install the pressure switch. The switch has a sensor that detects air pressure from the furnace, then engages the booster-fan. Start by drilling a hole in the duct for the switch's pressure probe.
- Insert the pressure probe into the hole (figure R), and mark the outside of the duct for the mounting holes (figure S).
- Drill holes at the marks, and mount the switch to the outside of the duct with metal screws.
- Once the unit is installed, the duct-fan and pressure switch must be wired for electrical power from an available circuit (figure T). Follow any instructions and diagrams that come with your booster-fan kit. If you're not comfortable doing this type of electrical work, consider hiring an electrician for this part of the job.
Safety Alert: Do not install a duct booster-fan if temperatures inside the duct exceed 200 degrees Fahrenheit. (You're probably won't have this hot temperature in a forced-air system, but it could exist close to the furnace on a gravity-air system.)
RESOURCES :
136 Best Ways to Save on Your Home Energy
ISBN: 0376012048
(January, 2002)
Sunset Publishing Company (Division of Time Warner)
Website: www.sunset.com
Retrofitting for Energy Conservation
Model: 0070119201
Author: William H. Clark
McGraw-Hill Companies
Website: www.mcgraw-hill.com
Energy-Efficient Building: The Best of Fine Homebuilding
ISBN: 1561583405
From The Best of Fine Homebuilding book series.
The Taunton Press Inc.
Website: www.taunton.com
Save Energy, Save Money
ISBN: 0028642791
Authors: Alvin Ubell, George Merlis
Macmillan / Alpha Books
Website: www.macmillan.com
Achieving Energy Independence -- One Step at a Time
Model: 0966933605
Author: Jeffrey R. Yago
Dunimis Technology
Solar Living Source Book: The Complete Guide to Renewable Energy Technologies and Sustainable Living
Model: 0916571041
Author: John Schaeffer (Editor), Doug Pratt (Editor)
(Real Goods Solar Living Sourcebook, 11th Ed)
Real Goods
Website: www.realgoods.com
The Solar Electric House: Energy for the Environmentally-Responsive, Energy-Independent Home
ISBN: 0963738321
Author: Steven J. Strong, William G. Scheller
Chelsea Green Publiishing Company
Wind Energy Basics: A Guide to Small and Micro Wind Systems
Model: 1890132071
Author: Paul Gipe, Karen Perez
(Real Goods Solar Living Book)
Chelsea Green Publiishing Company
Wind Power for Home & Business: Renewable Energy for the 1990s and Beyond
Model: 0930031644
Author: Paul Gipe
(Real Goods Independent Living Book)
Chelsea Green Publiishing Company
Tjerlund Duct Booster-Fan
A duct booster-fan was installed in episode 104 of DIY's Home Energy Efficiency workshop.
Tjerlund Fans
White Bear Lake, MN 55110-6794
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