Air Conditioner vents - point toward outer wall or toward center of room?

Question

We recently had our carpets cleaned and they tried to convince us to pay them $500 to clean our air ducts. We declined.

The guy inspecting them told us that several of our vents (registers?) are pointed the wrong way and we could save on our electric bill if I turned them. He failed to tell us which ones were correct and which were not.

Many of them (they are in the ceiling) point toward the outside wall of the house. An equal number point away from the outer wall and toward the center of the room.

Some of our rooms have 12 to 18 foot vaulted ceilings, but most of our house has flat 10 or 12 foot ceilings (in case that matters). Some vents are located near walls with windows, others are not. We have thick wood blinds over all the windows.

Please let me know if the orientation of A/C vents really matters, and which direction is best.

THANKS!

Answer 1

HEY I GOT SOME REALLY GOOD LAND FOR SALE,DOWN IN THE SWAMP,ARE YOU INTERESTED? IF THE VENTS ARE TURNED IN A DIFF.DIRECTION,NO BIG DEAL,A s***w DRIVER&LADDER CAN RESOLVE THAT.HAVING THE VENTS BLOWING TO INSIDE OF THE ROOM IS THE BEST,BUT IF YOU ARE GETTING GOOD CIRCULATION LIKE THEY ARE,LEAVE THEM ALONE,(IF IT AINT BROKE,DON'T FIX IT)

Answer 2

If the ceiling vents are 10 to 18 feet above the floor, you can turn them any way you want to and never notice the difference.  Cold air falls but it doesn't drop like a rock.  At that height above the floor, it hardly matters which way anything is pointed.

Answer 3

Point them the direction that will give the room the best coverage but not toward your return.

Answer 4

Toward the outside wall would be best.

Answer 5

small rooms dont matter big rooms away from the wall  

Answer 6

They need to be pointed towards the center of the room, to help distribute the cool air.

If they are just pointed at the wall, it will cause more cool air to escape from the room.