If you find that you have hot and cold spots in your Lake Forest home, you’re not alone. This is a pretty normal occurrence. While it can seem like a big concern, the good news is that the common causes of hot and cold spots are typically easy to fix with a simple air conditioning service. The most likely 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
- 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 determine the air temperature in each zone. The system involves multiple thermostats that control dampers within the ductwork of your forced-air system. The thermostats constantly read 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 link to keeping that one freezing bedroom warm in the winter, or that heat chamber sunroom comfortable all summer. Plus, when it’s used 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 improperly designed. We find this is pretty 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 meet homeowners’ expectations if the duct system isn’t permitting it to do its job. In fact, a poor duct system could actually cause new equipment to work harder than it should and decrease its life cycle. The pros at 1st Choice Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. 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 might still be the source of your home’s hot and cold spots. It’s commonplace for the ducts in a home to leak some over time. Pros like 1st Choice Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. 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 properly insulated. Fortunately, this is also a pretty 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 keep up with 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, 1st Choice Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. can help. Just give us a call at 949-204-0859 and we’ll help you decide what the issue is and decide if you need air conditioning service, or any other types of HVAC service that will help you keep your home cozy.
*Source: U.S. Department of Energy statistics