The HVAC Terms Defined series aims to make the HVAC industry more accessible and understandable to the people who trust us to take care of their home’s heating, cooling, and air. In this post, we’re talking about HVAC zoning systems. 

Have you ever spent a sleepless night in a too-hot room, only to find that your living room is freezing? If your bedroom’s in the tropics and the rest of the house feels like the North Pole, you could benefit from an HVAC zoning system. 

Here’s what homeowners need to know about these systems that are designed to keep your whole house habitable.

What are HVAC zoning systems?

Your home’s HVAC system is always working to make you as comfortable as possible, whether that’s through heating or cooling. Despite this, there are times when you might feel hot spots, cold spots, or areas of your house where the temperature doesn’t feel as controlled as it should. This can happen due to sun exposure, inadequate ductwork, drafts, and plenty of other reasons. An HVAC zoning system is designed to prevent these annoying fluctuations from happening in the first place.

A zoning system doesn’t heat or cool your home as one whole. Instead, they’re developed to address different “zones” independently of one another. Zones can be rooms, areas or floors,  depending on your home and family’s unique needs.

The main components of a zoning system are the individual dampers. These dampers get installed inside your duct and are what allows the cooled or heated air to distribute where it’s needed most. Each zone has its own dampers that are then connected to a thermostat that is wired into a centralized control panel. This panel is the hub that speaks to the different thermostats and controls the dampers that allow cooled or heated air into the rooms that need it. 

Why should I care about HVAC zoning systems?

Zoned HVAC systems offer a great deal of convenience and benefits for the average homeowner. The main benefit is the amount of control they give you over the specific temperature of each room in your house. This is excellent if you have a large family filled with individuals with different temperature needs, or if your home is older and needs a little help with regulation. Other benefits include:

• Energy efficiency. An HVAC zoning system gives you more control over where your home is – and isn’t – heated or cooled. If you have rooms or floors you don’t frequently enter, you can give them their own zones that can be left warmer in the summer or cooler in the winter to save on energy use and cost. 
• Convenience. If you’re having a zoned system installed, it likely means you’re including smart thermostats in the package. This is due to their efficiency and ease of use. Most smart thermostats connect to apps on your phone that will allow you to control each zone’s temperature from wherever you are – even if it’s on the other side of the world.
• Quieter operation. Since your heating and cooling power is more efficient, your HVAC can make your home comfortable without running at top capacity all the time. This reduces noise and can even help extend the life of your HVAC unit.

Zoned HVAC is unlike traditional HVAC because it gives you more control over the way various parts of your home are heated or cooled. If you’re interested in learning more about smart thermostats, zoning, and how these can improve the overall comfort level in your home, give us a call! You can call, email, or contact us anytime to learn more.