How Creating Comfort Zones in Your Home Can Cut Your Costs
Most homes have one, maybe two, HVAC system to service the entire house. Zoning is a way to make your home more comfortable and reduce your energy costs by using separate thermostats to control different areas, or zones, of your home without the need to heat or cool rooms that are not being used. By dividing your home into zones, you can maintain different temperatures in different areas based on when they are being used. Done correctly, zoning can save you up to 30 percent on your energy costs.
Does You Home Suffer from Uneven Temperatures?
Do you have a multi-story home that’s never the same temperature from one floor to the next? Do your family members have a serious difference of opinion on what a comfortable temperature is? Have the kids moved out and now you’re not using all the rooms in your home anymore?
If you’ve answered any of these questions with a yes, you may do well to have an HVAC zoning system installed in your home.
With HVAC zoning, you’re able to divide your home into comfort zones that are customized to suit your family’s needs; each zone has its own thermostat so you can set temperatures that suit everyone without experiencing any drama or overspending on wasted energy.
When every part of your Coachella Valley home’s HVAC system is working exactly as it should, your house becomes an oasis of comfort. Every room is the same comfortable temperature, with no hot spots, cold spots or drafts. You are able to simply live and enjoy.
Common Causes & What You Can Do To Fix The Problem
Are Your Vents & Registers Blocked?
Sometimes uneven temperatures are created when you unwittingly block your vents or registers with furniture and décor items. This cuts off your home’s optimal airflow, leading to hot spots and cold spots. If you find that you have accidentally covered your vents and returns, simply rearrange your furniture. Not only will you have better airflow and more even temperatures, but your house will enjoy an updated look without you having to spend a dime.
Are Your Air Filters Dirty?
Even though changing your air filters is an easy task to complete, it’s also insanely easy to forget to do. Forgetting to change your filters on a regular schedule causes them to clog with dust, hair, pet dander and other particles that choke off your HVAC unit’s air intake and output. What you’re left with is diminished airflow and uneven temperatures. Make sure you change your filters at least once every 90 days to keep your home’s temperature comfortably even.
Is Your Ductwork In Good Shape?
If you’ve ensured your vents and registers are unobstructed and your air filters are clean, yet you’re still experiencing troublesome uneven temperatures, the problem may be with your ductwork. Thanks to our seismically active location, it’s easy for your ducts to become damaged without your realizing it. Damages like tears, cracks or kinks will cause your conditioned air to leak out within your walls rather than reaching your rooms. Have your ducts inspected to see if they need sealing and repair.
Is Your HVAC Unit The Wrong Size?
It’s an unfortunate fact that not all HVAC contractors operate with the honesty and integrity that you can expect from the professionals at Hydes. A dishonest contractor may have installed an improperly-sized system in your home in order to charge you more money. If your HVAC unit is the wrong size, it won’t be able to effectively cool and heat your home, leaving you with uneven temperatures, higher energy bills and probably some indoor air quality problems as well. If you’re worried that your home comfort system isn’t the right size for your needs, Hydes can evaluate your needs and make a recommendation for a proper HVAC installation.
How Does HVAC Zoning Work?
There are many ways to implement HVAC zoning, but the most straightforward way to do it is by installing a central zone controller and a series of mechanical dampers in your ductwork. Whereas traditionally your thermostat is connected directly to your HVAC unit, with HVAC zoning your thermostats are connected to the zone controller, which is in turn connected to the dampers and HVAC unit.
For example, in a home without zoning, the thermostat tells the HVAC unit it’s too warm in the house and the HVAC unit pumps out cold air until the thermostat tells it the house is cool enough.
In a home with zoning, the thermostats in Zone 1 and Zone 2 tell your zone controller it’s cool enough inside while the thermostat in Zone 3 says it’s too warm; the zone controller then relays the need for cool air to the HVAC and adjusts the dampers to direct all that cold air to Zone 3. Zone 3 is cooled off and Zones 1 & 2 are unaffected.
How HVAC Zoning Saves Money
You may wonder how having more thermostats is going to shave dollars from your power bills. After all, if multiple thermostats are telling your HVAC unit to run, wouldn’t that lead to using more energy? Well, no actually.
By having multiple zones in your home, you can set each zone’s temperature to meet your needs, meaning each zone gets exactly as much heating and cooling as is necessary.
It takes a lot less energy to heat and cool a small space within your home than to cool your whole home, meaning you won’t have to waste energy and money on:
- Overcooling your home in an attempt to get the hottest rooms cool enough.
- Freezing the first floor in order to cool the second floor.
- Fighting over control of the thermostat.
- Paying to heat and cool rooms you don’t use.
Not only does an HVAC zoning system save money on your energy bills, it can also help extend the operating life of your HVAC unit. The unit spends less time running each day, reducing its wear and tear. This translates to a longer service life and fewer lifetime HVAC repairs. That can add up to a lot of money saved over the years!
If you’re ready to install an HVAC zoning system in your Coachella Valley home or need general maintenance done on your air conditioner, call Hydes at (760) 360-2202 to schedule an appointment.
