If you find that you have hot and cold spots through your Manassas home, you’re not alone. This is a fairly common issue. While it can seem like a big problem, the good news is that the common causes of hot and cold spots are typically easy to fix with a straightforward air conditioning service. The most likely causes for hot and cold spots are:
- No 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 allows you to customize the air temperature in each zone. The system involves multiple thermostats that run 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 might be the missing piece to keeping that one cold bedroom warm in the winter, or that heat chamber sunroom comfortable all summer. Plus, when it’s used with a programmable thermostat, zoning may mean home energy savings of up to 35 percent.*
Poorly Designed or Ineffectively Sized Duct Systems
Some homeowners have hot and cold spots simply because their home’s duct system isn’t sized correctly 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 a lot of today’s tools and training were used. Unfortunately, even the most energy-efficient HVAC equipment can’t meet homeowners’ expectations if the duct system isn’t permitting it to do its job. In fact, a shoddy duct system could actually cause new equipment to work more often than needed and shorten its life. The experts at Woody's Sudden Service 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 appropriately for your home, it could still be the cause of your home’s hot and cold spots. It’s common for the ducts in a home to become leaky over time. Professionals like Woody's Sudden Service Inc can check your ducts and let you know if they need sealed. They might also find that your ducts aren’t leaking, but they’re not correctly insulated. Fortunately, this is also a fairly easy fix.
Improperly Sized HVAC Equipment
So possibly your air duct system is just fine and you have a good zoning system, but you’re still noticing hot and cold spots throughout your home. Improperly sized HVAC equipment could be the issue. 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 take care of the amount of space it needs to condition. Even a system that’s too big can cause problems because it’ll cycle on and off too often to do its job well.
No matter what’s the cause of the hot and cold spots in your home, Woody's Sudden Service Inc can help. Just give us a call at 703-278-2036 and we’ll help you pinpoint the problem 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