If your home has a damp and chilly finished basement, or upstairs bedrooms that get too warm in the summertime, you know exactly why using one thermostat to heat and cool a home comfortably and effectively is so difficult. This is especially the case with multi-story homes, or those with add-on rooms or big spaces with lots of windows. The good news is that a zoning system will address the limitations of a single thermostat, improving both comfort and efficiency in your home.
How Does a Zoning System Work?
First, the home is divided into two or more separate climate zones, areas that share the same heating and cooling loads. This can be the result of different elevations in the home (since heat rises, and basements tend to be damp and cool); solar heating from windows; different building materials, for example, in a room addition; areas at the end of long duct runs; and other factors. Each zone is then equipped with a separate programmable thermostat and motorized duct dampers. When that zone requires heating or cooling, conditioned air is directed that way, while areas that don’t require heating and cooling don’t get it.
What are the Benefits?
- Energy efficiency. With a single thermostat, it’s difficult to avoid sending warm or cold air to parts of the house that don’t need it. That wastes energy and costs money. A zoning system allows you to only send conditioned air to zones that require it.
- Comfort for all members of the household. When family members can choose their preferred comfort level in their own part of the house, rather than arguing over how a single thermostat should be set, everybody gets along better.
- Improved comfort. With a zoning system, you don’t have to freeze in a chilly basement family room in the depths of winter; bake in mid-summer heat in an upstairs loft; or shiver as in a room that’s not getting much conditioned air.
For more information on installing a zoning system in your Dayton-Springfield area home, please contact us at Ace Hardware Home Services, Inc.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Dayton, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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