If you find that you have hot and cold spots in your Rock Hill home, you’re not alone. This is a fairly common occurrence. While it may seem like a major 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 routine causes for hot and cold spots are:
- No 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 splits 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 run dampers inside the ductwork of your forced-air system. The thermostats are always reading the temperature of their designated zone, then open or close the dampers to meet the thermostat's settings. This could be the missing piece to keeping that one cold bedroom warm in the winter, or that heat chamber sunroom comfortable all summer. Plus, when you utilize it with a programmable 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 isn’t sized correctly for the space that needs heated and cooled, or it’s improperly designed. We find this is pretty 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 live up to 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 more frequently than necessary and decrease its life. The experts at US Air Heating and Cooling 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 designed and sized appropriately for your home, it might still be the source of your home’s hot and cold spots. It’s normal for the ducts in a home to leak a bit over time. Experts like US Air Heating and Cooling can inspect your ducts and let you know if they should be sealed. They may also find that your ducts aren’t leaking, but they’re not correctly insulated. Fortunately, this is also a fairly easy 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 noticing hot and cold spots throughout your home. Improperly sized HVAC equipment could be the issue. 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 cause problems because it’ll cycle on and off too often to do its job well.
No matter what’s the cause of the hot and cold spots in your home, US Air Heating and Cooling can help. Just give us a call at 803-220-0761 and we’ll help you figure it out and decide if you need air conditioning service, or any other types of HVAC service that can help you keep your home cozy.
*Source: U.S. Department of Energy statistics