How to Keep Your Home Comfortable All Year Round
You must have noticed that there are times when your home gets too hot or too cold. There may also be times when one area of your home seems to get all the cold or all the heat. If this happens, your dampers may need to be adjusted or replaced. A damper is a mechanical device installed in the HVAC system of your home. This device directs the air into your home or away from it depending on the settings you choose. How does a damper work? How does it help in making your home comfortable for your family?
- What are dampers?
Inside the HVAC system is the damper. It is a device that is shaped like a plate which opens or closes to manage the air that comes into your home or out the vents. The adjustment of dampers affect the temperature in the home as a whole. You can choose whether to send in more hot or more cold air into a particular area, room or section of the house. It permits you to force in more air during summer. It also allows you to reduce the amount of air entering your home during winter.
- Types of Dampers
There are automated dampers and manual dampers. An automated damper apparently closes and opens automatically from a wireless signal where the setting is managed at a thermostat location. Automated dampers usually work through a sensor that can perceive the amount of air needed in a particular portion of the house. Most homes still have manual dampers which can be adjusted manually by the homeowner depending on the preference.
- Damper Location
HVAC systems are generally installed in the attic or basement. If you want to adjust your damper, the first thing you have to do is to locate it. A manual damper will usually have a lever that you can turn by hand. It may also have a rod which can be adjusted by a screwdriver. Most dampers will have a wing nut that need to loosen so you can turn the handle.
- Adjusting the Damper
An effective adjustment of the damper usually involves trial and error. During summer, you would want to enable the most air into your home to keep your family comfortable. When winter comes, you would want to do the opposite by forcing the air out of your home so that the heat will rise. To open the damper completely, you will need to turn the level until it is in parallel with the duct. To close it, you have to turn the lever until it is horizontal to the duct.
The best thing about having dampers at home is that you can actually control and manage the amount of air that goes into your home and even in particular areas or sections. Too much heat during summer time can be pretty annoying and you wouldn’t want your kids complaining about how hot it is. Winter can just be as infuriating. Good thing you have dampers that can keep your home comfortable no matter what season it is.