Airflow is an often-overlooked aspect of creating an energy-efficient and healthy home. In fact, it’s one of the most essential things you should think about when planning your heating and cooling profile.

Whether you’re trying to minimize the number of hot and cold spots or you’re looking to lower your utility bills, improving airflow will make your home much more efficient. In this guide, we at One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning will walk you through some steps to help you fully optimize the airflow in your home.

Understanding How Airflow Affects Efficiency

As air circulates throughout your home, it goes through several of your home’s systems. For example, with a dedicated HVAC system, it’ll travel through the air conditioning filters, through the ductwork, out the vents, and back through the return vents. It also flows through and from natural ventilation systems in your home, like windows and doors.

If something is hampering your airflow, and it can't move smoothly through your home, this will reduce the efficiency of your cooling and heating. This typically leads to cold and warm spots. When these exist, your HVAC system will have to work harder to regulate these mismatched areas so that they align with the heating and cooling levels you set in the thermostat. When your HVAC system has to work harder, it becomes far less efficient.

Comfort Levels

With hot and cold spots, a consistent indoor temperature becomes a problem. These spots of irregular temperature are typically caused by blocked air vents or poor ductwork. In a single room, temperatures can vary wildly, which means that one person in a blocked area can be too hot or cold while another is perfectly comfortable. Most people might change the thermostat's settings to resolve issues like this, but this only masks and potentially exacerbates the problem.

HVAC Lifespans

Your thermostat has the temperature settings that your HVAC will try to maintain in your home. For example, if your thermostat is set to 65 degrees Fahrenheit and there is an area with a blocked vent, the HVAC system will try to correct the unbalanced temperature so that the entire room is at a uniform 65 degrees. This means that the motor will work harder, drastically reducing your system's lifespan.

Air Quality

When your system doesn’t manage airflow efficiently, it’s much easier for indoor pollutants, like debris, microorganisms, and allergens, to work their way through your system. When this is the case, the HVAC system can release these pollutants into your air, reducing indoor air quality significantly.

How to Improve Your Airflow Efficiency

Now that you understand what affects airflow efficiency, it’s important to know how to improve it so that your system runs at its best. Upkeep is critical for airflow efficiency, and in this section, we at One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning® are going to explain the steps you need to take for an optimized system.

Have Your HVAC System Cleaned

Dust, dander, debris, and other matter directly affect the efficiency of your HVAC system. When these things accumulate on filters, coils, inside your ductwork, or around vents, these parts become blocked over time. We suggest having a technician come in and clean these vital components so that airflow isn’t restricted. Our team will examine the system and perform the following steps:

  • Check and clean air filters
  • Clean the coils and the evaporator
  • Check the ductwork for debris accumulation
  • Clean fan blades
  • Clean the blower motor
  • Inspect vents and clear away any accumulated debris

You can address some of these issues yourself if you’re noticing accumulated dust on external components. An example of this would be dust that is coating an air vent - you can easily remove it using a damp cloth or a feather duster.

Schedule Yearly Regular Maintenance

Outside of any cleaning that you have our team perform, we always suggest having an HVAC maintenance appointment at least once a year. Optimally, we even suggest having this done twice a year, once in the spring and again in the fall. This helps you get ahead of any issues that might have cropped up in the summer or winter.

During the seasons when an HVAC system will experience its most extended use, there is a wide array of factors that can affect your airflow. For example, in the winter, debris like branches and leaves tend to accumulate around outside condenser units.

Conversely, in the summertime, clippings, leaves, and even pollen can cause similar blockages around the condenser unit. Spring and fall maintenance clears away any blockages and keeps the internal components of the system unobstructed.

A maintenance tune-up also includes the lubrication of moving parts, which will help transport air more efficiently through the system. Additional aspects that affect airflow efficiency are the inspection of electrical components, performance testing, calibrating the thermostat for efficiency, and insulation checks.

One of our technicians might also perform duct sealing with mastic or foil tape to improve airflow or insulate your ducts to reduce energy loss, although this might require an additional visit.

Remove Potential Blockages

Not every airflow problem requires professional maintenance or cleaning. Simply clearing away any objects that are obstructing airflow helps make your system more efficient. For example, if furniture is blocking vents, moving the furniture will fix the problem. Every year, it’s a good idea to see