If you discover that you have hot and cold spots through your Tucson home, you’re not alone. This is a pretty regular problem. While it might seem like a big problem, the good news is that the typical causes of hot and cold spots are usually easy to fix with a simple air conditioning service. The most routine causes for hot and cold spots are:
- Zero zoning or improper zoning
- Poorly designed or ineffectively sized duct systems
- Leaky or inadequately 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 allows you to customize the air temperature in each zone. The system involves multiple thermostats that run dampers inside the ductwork of your forced-air system. The thermostats are always reading the temperature of their designated zone, then open or close the dampers to match up with the thermostat's settings. This may be the missing link 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 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 not sized appropriately 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 many of today’s tools and training were around. Unfortunately, even the most energy-efficient HVAC equipment can’t match homeowners’ expectations if the duct system isn’t letting it do its job. In fact, a poor duct system could actually cause new equipment to work harder than needed and reduce its lifespan. The professionals at A&M Heating & Cooling LLC 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 may still be the source of your home’s hot and cold spots. It’s commonplace for the ducts in a home to become leaky over time. Pros like A&M Heating & Cooling LLC can check your ducts and let you know if they need sealed. They could also find that your ducts aren’t leaking, but they’re not adequately insulated. Fortunately, this is also a pretty simple 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 noticing hot and cold spots around your home. Improperly sized HVAC equipment may be the cause. A system that is too small has to work harder to heat or cool your home, meaning you have 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 well.
No matter what’s the culprit of the hot and cold spots in your home, A&M Heating & Cooling LLC can help. Just give us a call at 520-200-1048 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 could help you keep your home comfortable.
*Source: U.S. Department of Energy statistics