Much like a single light could not adequately serve your home’s lighting needs, often a single thermostat cannot meet the heating and cooling needs of the home. Zoning systems solve challenging home comfort problems, without you having to perform a costly retrofit of your home’s ductwork, or purchase a secondary HVAC system. Learn the home design features that cause comfort issues and are best suited for zoning systems.
- Two-story homes – Hot air rises, and if you have a two-story home, you’re likely more than familiar with the drastic temperature differences between the first and second floors. With a single thermostat servicing the home, which is usually installed in a central location on the first floor, the upstairs conditioning needs are never met, as this floor generally requires less heating and more cooling to remain comfortable.
- Large spaces – Much like the differences between stories, a large, open space on the first floor creates unique conditioning requirements. Larger spaces need more conditioned air than enclosed rooms, as they have higher heating and cooling loads. If your thermostat is installed in this space, the HVAC system will run until the room’s temperature meets the preset temperature; however, the other spaces in the home will likely reach the preset temperature much sooner, but will continue to receive heating/cooling. That’s why many rooms in your home may act as hot or cold zones.
- Rooms with large window expanses – These spaces are subject to higher heating/cooling loads in the same way as large spaces. Windows allow heat gain in the winter, contributing to a lower heating load, while in the summer they encourage heat loss, requiring a higher cooling load in that space.
- Rooms over garages, in basements, and in attics – These spaces also have unique conditioning needs, because of their access to higher/lower outside temperatures.
With a zoning system in place, these hard-to-condition spaces can receive as much heating and cooling as necessary, without negatively affecting the temperatures in other spaces.
To find out if a zoning system will resolve your home comfort challenges, contact Arpi’s Industries today! We serve homeowners in greater Calgary.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Calgary, Alberta about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about Zoning System and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
