If you find that you have hot and cold spots in your Dresden home, you’re not alone. This is a fairly common problem. While it might seem like a big concern, the good news is that the typical causes of hot and cold spots are usually easy to fix with a simple 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 inadequately 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 can customize the air temperature in each zone. The system involves multiple thermostats that run dampers in the ductwork of your forced-air system. The thermostats constantly read the temperature of their assigned zone, then open or close the dampers to match up with the thermostat's settings. This could be the key 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 could 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 space that needs heated and cooled, or it’s improperly designed. We find this is especially commonplace 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 allowing it to do its job. In fact, a poor duct system could actually cause new equipment to work more often than necessary and decrease its life. The professionals at McFadden Heating & Cooling 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 designed and sized appropriately for your home, it may 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. Experts like McFadden Heating & Cooling can check your ducts and let you know if they ought to be sealed. They could also find that your ducts aren’t leaking, but they’re not correctly 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 noticing hot and cold spots around 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, 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 cause problems because it’ll cycle on and off too often to do its job correctly.
No matter what’s causing the hot and cold spots in your home, McFadden Heating & Cooling can help. Just give us a call at 1-866-781-0111 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 will help you keep your home comfy.
*Source: U.S. Department of Energy statistics