Replacing Ducted Heating & Cooling Vents
Does your ducted air conditioning vents need replacing?
Vents for ducted heating & cooling systems – also called outlets – typically need replacing every 15-20 years.
Over time they can become yellow and brittle.
While this affects their appearance, it can also cause them to crack or break when they’re cleaned, or when the louvers are opened and closed manually.
Keep reading to find out how to replace your heating and cooling vents yourself or get in touch if you would like a quote to get them professional replaced.
Can I replace vents myself?
While you cannot legally install ducts yourself in Victoria, you can replace the vents.
It might look easy to do – you remove one vent and pop in another, right? Unfortunately it’s not so straightforward and we would be remiss to not warn you of the potential hazards of doing it yourself.
What to consider when replacing vents
Size
There are all different shapes and sizes of ducted heating and cooling vents, suited to different systems and room requirements.
Be aware – some older sizes which were previously common are no longer manufactured, so it’s important to measure them to the exact millimeter.
Design
Vent designs have changed over time. The design you have may not be available anymore. Or there may be a modern design better suited to your system.
But do not change designs without professional advice, as airflow is something that can affect the operation of your system.
Adaptors
Adaptors are required to join square vents to round ducts.
So if you have square vents, you will need to ensure the face of the vent fits nicely over the hole in your plaster. And the back of it connects onto the adapter, which connects onto your duct.
How to replace heating and cooling vents
1. Measure the face of the vents
Precisely measure the face of the vents. If they are round, measure the diameter. If they are rectangle, measure both length and width. If they look square, double check by measuring 2 sides.
2. Measure the adaptor – for square or rectangle vents only
This is the part you can’t see in the roof which connects square or rectangle vents to round ducts. You need to measure the diameter of the adaptor to ensure your new vents fit onto the adapter, which fits onto your ducts.
To do this, remove the vent and measure the adaptor (see photo below). Be very careful you don’t pull on your duct! You might tear the duct or pull it off another adapter in the roof.
Note: if you need a new adaptor for your new vent, try and get one of a similar depth. As sometimes they are located close to roof infrastructure and larger ones won’t fit.
3. Remove the vents
Some vents may have screws holding them in place which makes removing them easy, but the majority of the time the vents are clipped in place, which can make them a bit tricky to remove –
To remove clipped on square or rectangle vents, firstly pop out each insert (see photo of our technician below). Then reach into the ceiling, find the clips and unclip it from the plaster.
Gently remove the vent from the adapter.
Round vents can also be clipped on, but unlike square vents, you are unable to remove the insert. So you need to gently remove the vent.
Using a tool such as a screwdriver to pry it off can damage your plaster. But if you use your fingers to pry it off, sometimes the clip can spring back just as you’ve got a hold of it and squash your fingers.
Also, if you pull too hard, you can actually pull your plaster down upon your head. So these can be tricky.
4. Visit a supplier
Visit a heating and cooling supplier which sells to the general public. Either bring in the measurements and a photo of your vents, or take your actual vent in.
Please note: Different suppliers carry different size vents, so which supplier you visit will depend on what size you need. So you might want to contact them first to see if they carry the size you need.
5. Install your new vents & connect the ducts
Connect your ducts to your new vents and clip the vents onto your ceiling plaster.
Benefits of professional vent installation
We highly recommend engaging a professional company such as Martin Heating and Cooling to install your new vents.
We will correctly measure your vents and adapters, be able to source the correct replacement size and design, and install them safely. We can:
Need a quote to replace your vents?
Replacing your ducted heating and cooling vents is a quick way to easy way to update the look of your home and replace old, discoloured or brittle ones.
If you live in Geelong, Ballarat or Melbourne’s West, simply fill out our service and repair request form and let us know:
- How many of each type of duct you have (round, square, rectangle)
- If they are being used by a heating, cooling or combined heating and cooing system
