If you realize that you have hot and cold spots in your New Castle home, you’re not alone. This is a relatively regular problem. While it can seem like a larger concern, the good news is that the typical causes of hot and cold spots are usually easy to fix with a straightforward air conditioning service. The most routine causes for hot and cold spots are:
- Zero zoning or improper zoning
- Poorly designed or ineffectively sized duct systems
- Leaky or poorly insulated air ducts
- Improperly sized HVAC equipment
Lack of Zoning or Improper Zoning
A zoning system breaks up your home into separate areas, known as “zones,” and means you’re able to customize the air temperature in each zone. The system involves multiple thermostats that operate dampers inside the ductwork of your forced-air system. The thermostats are always reading the temperature of their specific zone, then open or close the dampers to match up with the thermostat's settings. This could be the missing link to keeping that one frozen bedroom warm in the winter, or that smoldering sunroom comfortable all summer. Plus, when you utilize it with a programmable thermostat, zoning may 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 not sized appropriately for the room that needs heated and cooled, or it’s improperly designed. We find this is fairly common in homes that were built before many of today’s tools and training were around. Unfortunately, even the most energy-efficient HVAC equipment can’t live up to homeowners’ expectations if the duct system isn’t permitting it to do its job. In fact, a shoddy duct system could actually cause new equipment to work more frequently than needed and reduce its life cycle. The experts at Central Heating & Plumbing can help you decide if your duct work is working for your home.
Leaky or Inadequately Insulated Air Ducts
Even if your duct system is properly designed and sized for your home, it could still be at the root of your home’s hot and cold spots. It’s normal for the ducts in a home to leak some over time. Experts like Central Heating & Plumbing can look at your ducts and let you know if they need sealed. They could also find that your ducts aren’t leaking, but they’re not correctly insulated. Fortunately, this is also a generally easy fix.
Improperly Sized HVAC Equipment
So there’s a chance your air duct system is just fine and you have a good zoning system, but you’re still noticing hot and cold spots throughout your home. Improperly sized HVAC equipment could be the cause. A system that is too small has to operate harder to heat or cool your home, which leaves hot and cold spots because it can’t take care of the amount of space it needs to condition. Even a system that’s too big can leave you with problems because it’ll cycle on and off too often to do its job correctly.
No matter what’s the cause of the hot and cold spots in your home, Central Heating & Plumbing can help. Just give us a call at 724-401-1843 and we’ll help you decide what the issue is and determine 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