If you find that you have hot and cold spots in your Wharton home, you’re not alone. This is a pretty regular issue. While it may seem like a major concern, 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
- 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 determine the air temperature in each zone. The system uses multiple thermostats that operate dampers in the ductwork of your forced-air system. The thermostats constantly read the temperature of their designated zone, then open or close the dampers according to the thermostat's settings. This may be the key to keeping that one frozen 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 end up with hot and cold spots simply because their home’s duct system isn’t sized correctly for the area that needs heated and cooled, or it’s improperly designed. We find this is pretty normal in homes that were built before many 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 permitting it to do its job. In fact, a poor duct system could actually cause new equipment to work harder than it should and shorten its life. The professionals at Faust Air Conditioning and Heating 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 at the root of your home’s hot and cold spots. It’s commonplace for the ducts in a home to become leaky over time. Professionals like Faust Air Conditioning and Heating can inspect your ducts and let you know if they need sealed. They might also find that your ducts aren’t leaking, but they’re not adequately insulated. Fortunately, this is also a fairly simple 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 feeling hot and cold spots around 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, meaning you have 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 mean 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, Faust Air Conditioning and Heating can help. Just give us a call at 979-323-6130 and we’ll help you decide what the issue is and decide if you need air conditioning service, or any other types of HVAC service that can help you keep your home comfortable.
*Source: U.S. Department of Energy statistics