If you discover that you have hot and cold spots through your Hasbrouck Heights home, you’re not alone. This is a relatively normal issue. While it might seem like a big problem, the good news is that the common causes of hot and cold spots are normally easy to fix with a straightforward air conditioning service. The most likely 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
- 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 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 key to keeping that one frozen bedroom warm in the winter, or that heat chamber sunroom comfortable all summer. Plus, when you use it with a programmable thermostat, zoning could 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 poorly designed. We find this is pretty 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 match homeowners’ expectations if the duct system isn’t allowing it to do its job. In fact, a poor duct system could actually cause new equipment to work more frequently than it should and shorten its life. The professionals at ACE Solutions 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 at the root of your home’s hot and cold spots. It’s normal for the ducts in a home to leak some over time. Experts like ACE Solutions can check 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 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 through 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, leaving you with hot and cold spots because it can’t handle 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, ACE Solutions can help. Just give us a call at 201-579-2562 and we’ll help you pinpoint the problem and figure out if you need air conditioning service, or any other types of HVAC service that could help you keep your home comfortable.
*Source: U.S. Department of Energy statistics