If you find that you have hot and cold spots throughout your Chadron home, you’re not alone. This is a fairly regular problem. While it may seem like a big issue, the good news is that the common causes of hot and cold spots are usually easy to fix with a straightforward air conditioning service. The most likely causes for hot and cold spots are:
- Zero zoning or improper zoning
- Poorly designed or ineffectively sized duct systems
- Leaky or inefficiently 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 means you’re able to determine 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 could be the key to keeping that one frozen bedroom warm in the winter, or that hot box sunroom comfortable all summer. Plus, when you use 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 experience 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 poorly designed. We find this is pretty normal in homes that were built before a lot 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 letting it do its job. In fact, a bad duct system could actually cause new equipment to work more often than necessary and reduce its life cycle. The pros at MPC Heating & Cooling can help you determine 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 common for the ducts in a home to leak a bit over time. Experts like MPC Heating & Cooling can check your ducts and let you know if they should be sealed. They might also find that your ducts aren’t leaking, but they’re not properly insulated. Fortunately, this is also a generally routine fix.
Improperly Sized HVAC Equipment
So maybe 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 may 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 handle 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 properly.
No matter what’s causing the hot and cold spots in your home, MPC Heating & Cooling can help. Just give us a call at 308-832-4321 and we’ll help you pinpoint the problem and figure out if you need air conditioning service, or any other types of HVAC service that could help you keep your home cozy.
*Source: U.S. Department of Energy statistics