If you discover that you have hot and cold spots through your West Jefferson home, you’re not alone. This is a fairly common occurrence. While it might seem like a big concern, the good news is that the typical causes of hot and cold spots are usually easy to fix with a normal air conditioning service. The most routine causes for hot and cold spots are:
- Lack of zoning or improper zoning
- Poorly designed or ineffectively sized duct systems
- Leaky or poorly insulated air ducts
- The wrong size of HVAC equipment
Lack of Zoning or Improper Zoning
A zoning system splits your home into separate areas, known as “zones,” and allows you to customize the air temperature in each zone. The system uses multiple thermostats that operate dampers in the ductwork of your forced-air system. The thermostats constantly read the temperature of their specific zone, then open or close the dampers according to the thermostat's settings. This might be the key to keeping that one cold bedroom warm in the winter, or that hot box sunroom comfortable all summer. Plus, when you use it with a programmable thermostat, zoning can mean home energy savings of up to 35 percent.*
Poorly Designed or Ineffectively Sized Duct Systems
Some homeowners experience hot and cold spots simply because their home’s duct system is the wrong size for the area that needs heated and cooled, or it’s improperly designed. We find this is pretty commonplace in homes that were built before much of today’s tools and training were used. Unfortunately, even the most energy-efficient HVAC equipment can’t match homeowners’ expectations if the duct system isn’t permitting it to do its job. In fact, a bad duct system could actually cause new equipment to work more frequently than necessary and shorten its lifespan. The experts at West Jefferson Plumbing and Heating, Inc. can help you determine if your duct work is working for your home.
Leaky or Inadequately Insulated Air Ducts
Even if your duct system is designed and sized appropriately for your home, it might still be at the root of your home’s hot and cold spots. It’s commonplace for the ducts in a home to leak a bit over time. Professionals like West Jefferson Plumbing and Heating, Inc. can look at your ducts and let you know if they should be sealed. They might also find that your ducts aren’t leaking, but they’re not correctly insulated. Fortunately, this is also a fairly simple fix.
Improperly Sized HVAC Equipment
So maybe your air duct system is just fine and you have a good zoning system, but you’re still feeling hot and cold spots throughout your home. Improperly sized HVAC equipment might be the cause. A system that is too small has to run harder to heat or cool your home, leaving you with hot and cold spots because it can’t keep up with the amount of space it needs to condition. Even a system that’s too big can cause problems because it’ll cycle on and off too often to do its job correctly.
No matter what’s the culprit of the hot and cold spots in your home, West Jefferson Plumbing and Heating, Inc. can help. Just give us a call at 614-879-9091 and we’ll help you decide what the issue is and decide if you need air conditioning service, or any other types of HVAC service that will help you keep your home comfortable.
*Source: U.S. Department of Energy statistics