If you find that you have hot and cold spots through your Wisconsin Rapids home, you’re not alone. This is a fairly regular occurrence. While it may seem like a big issue, the good news is that the typical causes of hot and cold spots are typically easy to fix with a straightforward 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 inadequately insulated air ducts
- HVAC equipment that is too big or too small
Lack of Zoning or Improper Zoning
A zoning system splits your home into separate areas, known as “zones,” and means you’re able to set the air temperature in each zone. The system is composed of multiple thermostats that run dampers within the ductwork of your forced-air system. The thermostats are working nonstop, reading the temperature of their assigned zone, then open or close the dampers according to the thermostat's settings. This could be the missing link to keeping that one freezing bedroom warm in the winter, or that heat chamber sunroom comfortable all summer. Plus, when you utilize 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 experience hot and cold spots simply because their home’s duct system is not sized appropriately for the space that needs heated and cooled, or it’s poorly designed. We find this is pretty common 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 live up to homeowners’ expectations if the duct system isn’t permitting it to do its job. In fact, a bad duct system could actually cause new equipment to work more frequently than necessary and shorten its lifespan. The pros at Rapids Sheet Metal Works Inc can help you figure out 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 cause of your home’s hot and cold spots. It’s commonplace for the ducts in a home to become leaky over time. Experts like Rapids Sheet Metal Works Inc can check your ducts and let you know if they should be sealed. They could also find that your ducts aren’t leaking, but they’re not properly 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 noticing hot and cold spots around your home. Improperly sized HVAC equipment might be the culprit. A system that is too small has to run harder to heat or cool your home, meaning you have 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 causing the hot and cold spots in your home, Rapids Sheet Metal Works Inc can help. Just give us a call at 715-301-0256 and we’ll help you figure it out 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