If you discover that you have hot and cold spots in your Franklin Lakes home, you’re not alone. This is a fairly common occurrence. While it might seem like a larger concern, the good news is that the common causes of hot and cold spots are typically easy to fix with a normal 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
- HVAC equipment that is too big or too small
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 uses multiple thermostats that run dampers inside the ductwork of your forced-air system. The thermostats are always reading the temperature of their specific zone, then open or close the dampers to match up with the thermostat's settings. This may be the key to keeping that one frozen bedroom warm in the winter, or that smoldering sunroom comfortable all summer. Plus, when it’s used with a programmable thermostat, zoning can mean home energy savings of up to 35 percent.*
Poorly Designed or Ineffectively Sized Duct Systems
Some homeowners end up with 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 a lot 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 harder than necessary and reduce its lifespan. The pros at Total Comfort 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 could still be the cause 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 Total Comfort can look at your ducts and let you know if they should be sealed. They may also find that your ducts aren’t leaking, but they’re not adequately insulated. Fortunately, this is also a generally simple 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 feeling hot and cold spots throughout your home. Improperly sized HVAC equipment could be the issue. A system that is too small has to operate harder to heat or cool your home, meaning you have 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 properly.
No matter what’s the culprit of the hot and cold spots in your home, Total Comfort can help. Just give us a call at 201-268-5663 and we’ll help you decide what the issue is and determine 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