A home’s HVAC system is designed to bring perfect air balance to the inside of the home. Air balance inside the home is important for a number of different reasons. When designing and building a home, each home is assigned a CFM number that refers to the home’s air balancing. Understanding the CFM or your air balance can help you ensure you are getting an optimal energy efficiency and help prevent major air conditioning problems in the future. Absolute P&M Services will share why air balance is so important to the home.
What is an HVAC Air Balance?
The CFM (Cubic Feet Per Minute) is the amount of air space inside the home. Each room in the home will be given its own CFM number along with an added total for the entire home. The air conditioning system must then meet the CFM number for the home. If the air conditioner is rated above or below the total CFM number, you will not have proper air balance. However, the size of the air conditioner isn’t the only element that can throw off the home’s air balance. When you do not have perfect air balance in the home you will have hot or cold spots throughout the home. The temperature will never be even throughout the home either. The areas that are not properly cold or warm, depending on the season, will forever be uncomfortable. Discomfort isn’t the only problem with air imbalance. Depending on the reason behind the imbalance, it can cause stress and damage to the HVAC system. When you have imbalance in the home, it is important to determine the cause.
What are the Causes of Air Imbalance
Air temperature imbalance can be caused by a number of different factors. One is the wrong air conditioner unit size. When a unit is too small it cannot effectively cool down the home. When an air conditioner is too big or is oversized, it will cool down the home too quickly and will not allow the temperature to equalize. Another cause for air balance problems, is when the air ducts are the wrong size. When the air ducts are too big much of the energy used to cool the home is first cooling the interior space of the air ducts. If air imbalance has been a constant problem from the very beginning, there is a chance the wrong sized air duct was used. When the air ducts or the air conditioner isn’t the problem, check the air vents throughout the entire home. Make sure the air vents are fully open. If the air vents are closed or are obstructed, then that area will not cool down. Lastly, air imbalance can be due to poor insulation. A home insulation can have a number of different meanings. There is insulation in the attic and in the walls that helps maintain the home’s interior temperature. Another aspect of a home’s insulation are the doors and windows. Make sure to inspect both doors and windows and make sure they do not have air leaks that allow the hot air to flow inside or the cool air to flow outside. By checking the primary sources of air imbalance, you can correct this problem.
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If you need help inspecting your air conditioning system and determining why there is an air balance problem in your home, contact Absolute P&M Services today.