If you discover that you have hot and cold spots throughout your Erie home, you’re not alone. This is a pretty regular occurrence. While it can 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 straightforward air conditioning service. The most routine causes for hot and cold spots are:
- No zoning or improper zoning
- Poorly designed or ineffectively sized duct systems
- Leaky or inadequately insulated air ducts
- Improperly sized HVAC equipment
Lack of Zoning or Improper Zoning
A zoning system divides your home into separate areas, known as “zones,” and allows you 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 meet the thermostat's settings. This might be the missing piece to keeping that one cold bedroom warm in the winter, or that smoldering sunroom comfortable all summer. Plus, when it’s used with a programmable thermostat, zoning can 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 improperly designed. We find this is fairly common in homes that were built before a lot of today’s tools and training were used. Unfortunately, even the most energy-efficient HVAC equipment can’t meet homeowners’ expectations if the duct system isn’t letting it do its job. In fact, a shoddy duct system could actually cause new equipment to work harder than needed and shorten its life. The pros at Patterson & Stirling Inc 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 might 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. Experts like Patterson & Stirling Inc can inspect your ducts and let you know if they need sealed. They may also find that your ducts aren’t leaking, but they’re not adequately insulated. Fortunately, this is also a generally routine fix.
Improperly Sized HVAC Equipment
So possibly your air duct system is just fine and you have a good zoning system, but you’re still experiencing hot and cold spots around your home. Improperly sized HVAC equipment may be the issue. A system that is too small has to work harder to heat or cool your home, meaning you have 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 culprit of the hot and cold spots in your home, Patterson & Stirling Inc can help. Just give us a call at 814-308-0416 and we’ll help you pinpoint the problem 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