Is there such a think as a check valve for a Heater/AC?
Question:Its the time of the year where in mu house its a little to cold at night but warm enough to use the A/C during the day. In my installation the heater and A/C share the ducting, so there are manual close offs at the A/C and the heater (So that the hot air wont go out of the A/C opening or the cold air wont be blown out the heater intake).
Anyway, is there something like a check valve I can replace the manual close offs with? This way I can leave A/C and heater on at the same time so at night the heater will turn on and during the day the A/C. I realize that temperature settings have to be set carefully so both systems dont turn on at once.
Check valves for A/C anyone?
Answers:
No check valves per se, but there are things called electric-motor controlled zone dampers that can be installed and control-wired to function in the way you mentioned.
You would also have to have one single thermostat that would automatically switch back and forth from heat to cool and the reverse. Changing to a single-thermostat system would also improve your safety because you would then have a lockout between the heating/cooling modes.
Call your local HVAC companies for an assessment and estimate. Good luck.
It wouldn't be called a check valve but I know what you're saying. I'm sure you could find electronic baffles at a local heating and a/c supply house. I can't imagine they'd be terribly expensive.
Find a thermostat that has an "automatic" setting to turn on the appropriate unit. Your ducts should be insulated so I would not worry about heat escaping through the duct work.
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