If you find that you have hot and cold spots throughout your La Puente home, you’re not alone. This is a relatively regular problem. While it may seem like a major problem, 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 likely causes for hot and cold spots are:
- Lack of zoning or improper zoning
- Poorly designed or ineffectively sized duct systems
- Leaky or inefficiently insulated air ducts
- HVAC equipment that is too big or too small
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 is composed of multiple thermostats that operate dampers in 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 might be the key 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, smart thermostat, zoning could 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 is not sized appropriately for the space that needs to be heated and cooled, or it’s poorly designed. We find this is pretty 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 match homeowners’ expectations if the duct system isn’t permitting it to do its job. A shoddy duct system could cause new equipment to work more frequently than needed and decrease its life. The pros at Temp Air System Inc. 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 may still be the source of your home’s hot and cold spots. It’s commonplace for the ducts in a home to leak a bit over time. Pros like Temp Air System Inc. 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 fairly routine 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 might 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 keep up with 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, Temp Air System Inc. can help. Just give us a call and we’ll help you pinpoint the problem and decide if you need air conditioning service or any other types of HVAC service that could help you keep your home comfortable.
*Source: U.S. Department of Energy statistics