If you discover that you have hot and cold spots through your Georgetown home, you’re not alone. This is a fairly normal occurrence. While it can seem like a major problem, the good news is that the typical causes of hot and cold spots are usually easy to fix with a straightforward air conditioning service. The most common 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
- 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 can set the air temperature in each zone. The system uses multiple thermostats that control dampers inside the ductwork of your forced-air system. The thermostats are always reading the temperature of their assigned zone, then open or close the dampers to match up with the thermostat's settings. This could be the missing piece to keeping that one frozen bedroom warm in the winter, or that heat chamber 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 have hot and cold spots simply because their home’s duct system isn’t sized correctly for the room that needs heated and cooled, or it’s improperly designed. We find this is especially normal in homes that were built before a lot of today’s tools and training were available. Unfortunately, even the most energy-efficient HVAC equipment can’t meet homeowners’ expectations if the duct system isn’t permitting it to do its job. In fact, a shoddy duct system could actually cause new equipment to work more often than it should and reduce its life cycle. The professionals at Miller Climate Control LLC 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 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. Pros like Miller Climate Control LLC can inspect your ducts and let you know if they need sealed. They may also find that your ducts aren’t leaking, but they’re not adequately insulated. Fortunately, this is also a pretty easy 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 might be the issue. A system that is too small has to work 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 leave you with 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, Miller Climate Control LLC can help. Just give us a call at 512-937-2001 and we’ll help you figure it out and decide if you need air conditioning service, or any other types of HVAC service that could help you keep your home comfy.
*Source: U.S. Department of Energy statistics