With an HVAC zoning system, you can cool or heat areas of your home individually. These systems range from simple to complex. They all can help you stay comfortable while giving you a means to reduce your energy usage.
Uneven Cooling and Heating
Does it take far longer to reach a comfortable temperature in one area than it does in another? Is the downstairs a sauna while the upstairs feels like a winter wonderland? These are all symptoms of an uneven heating or cooling problem. These issues can occur in any home, even a well-insulated one.
Your HVAC system will remain on constantly as it struggles to fill the whole house or space with treated air. If you don't have a well-balanced configuration, you can end up with an HVAC system constantly cycling as it tries to maintain the temperature. That, in turn, results in high utility bills and heavy wear on your HVAC system.
There are many reasons for unevenly treated air distribution. A zoning system is an ideal solution for making your HVAC system behave.
How Can a Zoning System Help?
A zoning system will allow you to heat or cool only those areas that require it. Instead of struggling to send treated air to the whole house, your HVAC system can send it only to where it's needed.
For example, if you're in the living room, there's no need to have your central air trying to cool off other areas. You probably even have some parts of your home that you rarely step foot in. It's pointless to have the spare bedroom taking up your resources for no reason.
Zoning is also a great peacemaker. If you're in a home with a family or other people, zoning can give everybody control over the areas they're in. There's nothing as grating as an argument over whether it's too hot or cold in the house.
You can have a temperature you're comfortable with, while someone in another area can have a completely different temperature set. Even if multiple people are using the HVAC resources, the zoning system is still doing its job by not sending air to unused areas.
Is Your Home Ready for a Zoning System?
There are many types of zoning systems out there. There are some options that may work with your current HVAC system, but that's not always a given. You may need a professional contractor to work on your ductwork and make sure you can split your home into independent zones.
Ductless heating and cooling systems can offer a form of zoning. For example, a mini-split system doesn't require ductwork. These systems will offer heating and cooling capabilities wherever you place them. Each unit can handle a zone, with lines connecting them all to the compressor and air handler.
Ask a professional cooling and heating service about what kinds of options will work best for your current HVAC system. Barring that, the contractor can help you to figure out what you will have to do to add a new zoning system to your home. To learn more, contact a company like HELP Plumbing, Heating, Cooling and Electric.
Share31 March 2017
Every summer, I agonized over energy bills that would shoot into the stratosphere as a result of my efforts to keep cool in the heat. Every time I turned the temperature down, my bills increased. This summer, I decided to take some of the control over my energy bill back. I installed reflective film on my windows that reduced the amount of light and heat coming into the house. I started serving more cold meals or asking my husband to barbecue outside, so that my air conditioner didn't have to compete with the hot stove, and I started doing laundry at night to reduce appliance heat in the house at peak times. I also had ceiling fans installed. So far, the difference in my bill has been tremendous. This blog is a way for me to explore other ways to reduce energy drain during the summer months.