If you discover that you have hot and cold spots in your Beckley and Mount Hope home, you’re not alone. This is a relatively normal problem. While it might seem like a big issue, the good news is that the normal causes of hot and cold spots are usually 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 poorly insulated air ducts
- The wrong size of HVAC equipment
Lack of Zoning or Improper Zoning
A zoning system splits your home into separate areas, known as “zones,” and means you can set the air temperature in each zone. The system involves multiple thermostats that operate dampers inside the ductwork of your forced-air system. The thermostats are working nonstop, reading the temperature of their assigned zone, then open or close the dampers according to the thermostat's settings. This may be the missing piece to keeping that one frozen bedroom warm in the winter, or that heat chamber sunroom comfortable all summer. Plus, when you use 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 is the wrong size for the area that needs heated and cooled, or it’s improperly designed. We find this is fairly 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 meet homeowners’ expectations if the duct system isn’t letting it do its job. In fact, a poor duct system could actually cause new equipment to work more frequently than needed and decrease its lifespan. The professionals at Appalachian Heating 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 properly for your home, it might still be at the root of your home’s hot and cold spots. It’s normal for the ducts in a home to become leaky over time. Experts like Appalachian Heating can look at 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 properly insulated. Fortunately, this is also a generally routine fix.
Improperly Sized HVAC Equipment
So there’s a chance 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 might be the cause. A system that is too small has to run harder to heat or cool your home, which leaves 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 correctly.
No matter what’s the cause of the hot and cold spots in your home, Appalachian Heating can help. Just give us a call at 304-707-0600 and we’ll help you pinpoint the problem and determine if you need air conditioning service, or any other types of HVAC service that can help you keep your home comfy.
*Source: U.S. Department of Energy statistics