Ever wondered where all the dust in your home ends up? The answer: in your HVAC system.
The heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, or HVAC, system in your home plays a huge role in your indoor air quality. While it may be tempting to treat this system as “out of sight, out of mind,” proper cleaning and maintenance of this system can contribute to healthy ductwork and cleaner air in your home.
The first step in being able to care of this system is knowing the proper names of all its components. If you’ve been treating your air ducts and air vents as the same thing, you’re not alone. However, distinguishing between these pieces of your HVAC system is vital to effective communication with your cleaners.
Read on to learn the difference between air ducts vs vent and what this means for you.
What Is An Air Duct?
Whether you have a furnace, central air, or some other form of heating and cooling in your home, you need a system that will bring the temperature-controlled air from the system to other parts of your home. This is where your air ducts come in.
These hollow metal tubes carry air throughout your home. They form passageways for the air from your HVAC system to travel to each of the individual rooms of your home. They also allow air from the rooms in your home to travel back to the HVAC system to get reheated or cooled, depending on the season.
What Is An Air Vent?
Air vents are the metal covers that go over the holes between the walls in your home and the air ducts. When they are open, they allow air to pass through from your HVAC system into the rooms of your home and vice versa.
The vents that allow air from your HVAC system into your home are called supply vents. The vents that allow air from your rooms to go back into the HVAC system are called return vents.
What’s The Functional Difference?
Okay, now that you know the difference between an air vent vs air duct, what does this mean for you?
These two pieces of your HVAC system require different kinds of maintenance. Since air vents are visible and easily accessible inside your home, regularly cleaning them will keep visible dust out of your home and contribute to a brighter, cleaner-looking environment. However, for a deep clean of your HVAC system, you’ll have to get into the air ducts and clean those out.
Keeping your air ducts clean and free of blockage from dust and other air particles will improve the energy efficiency of your home. If you have mold or insect or vermin infestations, getting your air ducts clean is vital. While these issues may not come up often, dealing with them immediately when they do arise will preserve the health of your family and your home for years to come.
Keep Your HVAC System Clean And Healthy
Congratulations! You now know the difference between air ducts and air vents. Use this knowledge to keep the air in your home clean and free from contaminants.
Looking for air duct cleaning in Rockford, IL? Contact us to request an estimate on our cleaning services today!