If you realize that you have hot and cold spots through your the Bay Area home, you’re not alone. This is a relatively normal problem. While it can seem like a larger 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 routine 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
- The wrong size of 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 uses multiple thermostats that control dampers in the ductwork of your forced-air system. The thermostats are working nonstop, 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 missing piece to keeping that one cold bedroom warm in the winter, or that smoldering sunroom comfortable all summer. Plus, when you utilize 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 is the wrong size for the room that needs heated and cooled, or it’s designed the wrong way. We find this is fairly common 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 live up to 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 necessary and decrease its life cycle. The experts at Contra Costa Heating & AC 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 the source of your home’s hot and cold spots. It’s normal for the ducts in a home to leak some over time. Pros like Contra Costa Heating & AC can look at 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 correctly insulated. Fortunately, this is also a generally routine 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 feeling hot and cold spots through your home. Improperly sized HVAC equipment might 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 keep up with the amount of space it needs to condition. Even a system that’s too big can mean 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, Contra Costa Heating & AC can help. Just give us a call at 510-343-9841 and we’ll help you decide what the issue is and figure out 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