If you discover that you have hot and cold spots through your Phoenix home, you’re not alone. This is a pretty normal issue. While it might seem like a major issue, the good news is that the typical causes of hot and cold spots are normally easy to fix with a simple air conditioning service. The most routine 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
- The wrong size of HVAC equipment
Lack of Zoning or Improper Zoning
A zoning system breaks up your home into separate areas, known as “zones,” and means you’re able to 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 could be the missing link to keeping that one freezing bedroom warm in the winter, or that hot box sunroom comfortable all summer. Plus, when you use 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 space that needs heated and cooled, or it’s designed the wrong way. We find this is pretty normal in homes that were built before much 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 permitting it to do its job. In fact, a shoddy duct system could actually cause new equipment to work more frequently than needed and shorten its lifespan. The professionals at Dial One Mears Air Conditioning & Heating 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 properly designed and sized 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. Professionals like Dial One Mears Air Conditioning & Heating Inc can check 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 correctly insulated. Fortunately, this is also a fairly 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 experiencing 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, 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 leave you with problems because it’ll cycle on and off too often to do its job well.
No matter what’s the cause of the hot and cold spots in your home, Dial One Mears Air Conditioning & Heating Inc can help. Just give us a call at 602-832-7808 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 can help you keep your home comfortable.
*Source: U.S. Department of Energy statistics