Comments on: Close Vents – Daily Financial Challenge

By: Ben

Ben — Thu, 31 May 2007 22:15:58 +0000

I have a question which is similar to Rachel’s but in the room in question, there’s a cold air return in that room. Should I still close the door? The only other cold air return on that floor is in the master bedroom where I also close the bedroom door so it stays real cold in there.

By: pfadvice

pfadvice — Thu, 04 May 2006 08:51:17 +0000

If you turn off a vent in a room, should you then keep that room’s door shut?

Yes – leaving the door open will let cool air from other parts of the house rush into the room and let the warmer air out. If possible, I’d move the litter box.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Thu, 04 May 2006 08:23:11 +0000

I have a question about this that may be stupid, but what the heck…

If you turn off a vent in a room, should you then keep that room’s door shut? I have a room that is rarely used, but I do have a cat litter box in there, so I keep the door partially opened for them to go in there. I don’t need a/c working in there necessarily, but if I’m going to have to keep the door closed too, I will need to move the box.

Let me know how that works. Thanks!

By: ski

ski — Thu, 04 May 2006 01:46:33 +0000

this is not as simple of a task but we have a fan in our attic that kicks on when the attic gets to a certain temp. This helps keep the top of our house cool and in the long run will make our roof last longer.

By: Gigi

Gigi — Thu, 04 May 2006 01:00:09 +0000

Depending on how your house is laid out and if it’s a two story, one option is to turn off the duct work (at the furnace) leading to the lower level. That way, all air will be pushed upstairs and drift downstairs (hot air rises, cold air sinks).

I’ve noticed that turning off the vents can sometimes cause them to make a noise. This is due to air still trying to pass through the vent. The best option is to close the flue at the furnace leading to certain areas of the house. In my place, I have an upstairs and a downstairs duct flue. I can effectively close off one half floor depending on the season. I also close the associated vents for any leakage.