If you discover that you have hot and cold spots through your Oxford home, you’re not alone. This is a pretty regular problem. While it may seem like a big issue, the good news is that the typical causes of hot and cold spots are normally 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
- 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 determine the air temperature in each zone. The system involves multiple thermostats that control dampers inside the ductwork of your forced-air system. The thermostats are always reading the temperature of their assigned zone, then open or close the dampers to match up with the thermostat's settings. This may be the missing piece 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 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 isn’t sized correctly for the room that needs heated and cooled, or it’s improperly designed. We find this is fairly 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 letting it do its job. In fact, a poor duct system could actually cause new equipment to work harder than it should and shorten its lifespan. The professionals at Franklin's Heating & Air Conditioning, 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 designed and sized appropriately for your home, it could still be at the root of your home’s hot and cold spots. It’s common for the ducts in a home to leak some over time. Pros like Franklin's Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc can inspect 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 pretty routine 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 may be the culprit. 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 take care of the amount of space it needs to condition. Even a system that’s too big can mean problems because it’ll cycle on and off too often to do its job correctly.
No matter what’s the culprit of the hot and cold spots in your home, Franklin's Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc can help. Just give us a call at 662-281-1231 and we’ll help you figure it out and decide if you need air conditioning service, or any other types of HVAC service that will help you keep your home comfy.
*Source: U.S. Department of Energy statistics