If you discover that you have hot and cold spots through your South Beloit and Belvidere home, you’re not alone. This is a pretty normal issue. While it may seem like a larger concern, the good news is that the normal causes of hot and cold spots are normally easy to fix with a simple 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 poorly insulated air ducts
- The wrong size of HVAC equipment
Lack of Zoning or Improper Zoning
A zoning system splits your home into separate areas, known as “zones,” and means you can determine the air temperature in each zone. The system uses multiple thermostats that operate dampers within 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 may be the missing piece to keeping that one freezing bedroom warm in the winter, or that heat chamber 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 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 improperly designed. We find this is fairly commonplace in homes that were built before a lot of today’s tools and training were around. Unfortunately, even the most energy-efficient HVAC equipment can’t meet homeowners’ expectations if the duct system isn’t allowing it to do its job. In fact, a bad duct system could actually cause new equipment to work harder than it should and reduce its life. The pros at Fleming Heating & Air Conditioning 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 designed and sized properly for your home, it could still be the cause of your home’s hot and cold spots. It’s normal for the ducts in a home to become leaky over time. Professionals like Fleming Heating & Air Conditioning Inc can look at your ducts and let you know if they need 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 experiencing 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, which leaves 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 correctly.
No matter what’s causing the hot and cold spots in your home, Fleming Heating & Air Conditioning Inc can help. Just give us a call at 877-389-2465 and we’ll help you decide what the issue is and decide if you need air conditioning service, or any other types of HVAC service that could help you keep your home cozy.
*Source: U.S. Department of Energy statistics