To Zone or Not to Zone
The average American family may agree on many things, but one area that they may have very strong differences in is their home comfort When it comes to temperature preferences, some want the room to be warmer while others like it cooler. My guess is, there is often a battle of wills in your home trying to meet everybody’s home comfort needs since you only have a single thermostat to control the temperature throughout the house.
In order to provide your family with ultimate comfort and avoid clashes over thermostat settings, you may need to consider HVAC zoning your home. This will provide every room with an individual thermostat to set the temperature according to the occupant’s liking.
An HVAC zoning system is a heating and cooling system that utilizes dampers in the ductwork to regulate and redirect air to specific sections of the home. Thus creating customized temperature zones throughout the home for increased comfort and efficiency by utilizing a control panel and computer processors to monitor thermostats, the HVAC equipment, and the dampers.
What’s that mean for you? With HVAC zoning, you can program the temperature depending on the room’s design and your family member’s preferences so that everyone is enjoying the ultimate in home comfort
Does a zoned system make sense for you?
There are many different scenarios where installing a zoned system may make sense for you:
- New Construction - Building a new home is the best possible scenario to make use of a zoned HVAC system since it can be outlined in the building plans. On the other hand, zoning an existing home may require more work in order to make adjustments to the existing ductwork.
- Homes with Multiple Levels - Zoning can be beneficial if you have a home with multiple levels. Hot air typically rises, which makes your upstairs rooms significantly warmer than your downstairs rooms. Zoning lets you manage the temperature in both your lower level and upper-level rooms.
- Exposure to the Sun – Size and position of your windows can affect the climate throughout your home. If you have rooms that directly face the sun, the temperature in these areas tend to be much warmer than others. Zoning these parts of the home makes sense since it solves the problem of inconsistent temperatures.
- Spare or Rarely Used Rooms – I’m sure there are many of us with spare rooms we rarely use, a guest bedroom or a Den perhaps. With a zoned system, you have the ability to turn on the heating or cooling in these rooms only when they are occupied, eliminating the likelihood of unnecessarily wasting energy.
Benefits
Let’s talk about some additional benefits to zoning your home comfort system:
- Improved Comfort - With zoning, you can solve the issue of uneven heating and cooling since every room is provided with its own thermostat allowing for full room control set to the desired temperatures. Depending on compatibility, a zoned system also enables you to make use of programmable and smart thermostats, allowing you to have total control of your home’s temperature without being physically near the unit.
- Lower Utility Bills - Since you are no longer heating unused rooms, you could see a significant reduction in your fuel and electricity costs. In addition, the use of programmable and smart thermostats can help lower your utility bills by up to 30 percent.
- Extended HVAC Equipment Life - Since you have greater control over the temperatures in individual rooms, your furnace or AC unit no longer need to work as hard to heat and cool your entire home. Zoning prolongs the life of your furnace or air conditioner by avoiding overheating and reducing its wear and tear.
- Better Indoor Air Quality - Zoning eliminates the use of ducts, which minimizes the accumulation and circulation of dust, dirt, pollen, pet dander and mold, giving your home cleaner, fresher indoor air. This is particularly beneficial if you have family members who are suffering from asthma and allergies, eye irritation, skin rashes, and other health issues.
To learn more about zoning and see if this option makes sense for you, give our certified technicians a call to schedule an appointment.
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