If you discover that you have hot and cold spots throughout your Newark home, you’re not alone. This is a relatively normal problem. While it can seem like a major issue, the good news is that the normal 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 inefficiently insulated air ducts
- HVAC equipment that is too big or too small
Lack of Zoning or Improper Zoning
A zoning system divides your home into separate areas, known as “zones,” and allows you to customize 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 to meet the thermostat's settings. This could be the missing link to keeping that one freezing bedroom warm in the winter, or that heat chamber sunroom comfortable all summer. Plus, when you utilize it with a programmable thermostat, zoning can 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 designed the wrong way. We find this is fairly commonplace 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 letting it do its job. In fact, a bad duct system could actually cause new equipment to work more often than needed and shorten its life cycle. The experts at Luikart Heating & 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 could still be at the root 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 Luikart Heating & Cooling can look at your ducts and let you know if they need sealed. They may also find that your ducts aren’t leaking, but they’re not correctly 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 feeling hot and cold spots through your home. Improperly sized HVAC equipment could be the issue. A system that is too small has to work 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 causing the hot and cold spots in your home, Luikart Heating & Cooling can help. Just give us a call at 740-200-5591 and we’ll help you figure it out and figure out 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