If you realize that you have hot and cold spots throughout your Haines City home, you’re not alone. This is a fairly common occurrence. While it may seem like a larger problem, the good news is that the typical causes of hot and cold spots are typically easy to fix with a normal air conditioning service. The most common 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 breaks up your home into separate areas, known as “zones,” and means you’re able to set the air temperature in each zone. The system involves multiple thermostats that operate dampers within the ductwork of your forced-air system. The thermostats are always reading the temperature of their assigned zone, then open or close the dampers to match up with the thermostat's settings. This may be the missing link to keeping that one cold bedroom warm in the winter, or that hot box 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 have hot and cold spots simply because their home’s duct system isn’t sized correctly for the space that needs heated and cooled, or it’s designed the wrong way. We find this is especially common in homes that were built before many of today’s tools and training were available. 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 poor duct system could actually cause new equipment to work harder than needed and reduce its lifespan. The pros at Air Commander's Heating & Air Conditioning Co. can help you figure out 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 might still be the cause of your home’s hot and cold spots. It’s normal for the ducts in a home to become leaky over time. Pros like Air Commander's Heating & Air Conditioning Co. can inspect your ducts and let you know if they ought to be sealed. They might also find that your ducts aren’t leaking, but they’re not properly insulated. Fortunately, this is also a generally simple 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 experiencing hot and cold spots throughout your home. Improperly sized HVAC equipment could be the culprit. A system that is too small has to operate harder to heat or cool your home, leaving you with 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 mean problems because it’ll cycle on and off too often to do its job properly.
No matter what’s the culprit of the hot and cold spots in your home, Air Commander's Heating & Air Conditioning Co. can help. Just give us a call at 863-216-2923 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 comfy.
*Source: U.S. Department of Energy statistics