Is Even Heating A Challenge? A Zoning System Can Take Care Of That

Installing a zoning system is one of the best ways to achieve even heating throughout your home. Numerous factors contribute to uneven heating, including ductwork design inefficiencies, aging equipment and inadequate insulation.

However, even if you suffer from none of these issues, you might still be experiencing discrepancies in the indoor temperature in the various parts of your home. This is due to the natural propensity of hot air to rise; in both the winter and the summer, this can leave your upstairs rooms warmer than lower-lying areas. In winter, this can force you to heat your whole home even when the upstairs rooms are warm enough. In summer, you may have to cool your entire house even when the downstairs rooms are right at the temperature you want.

A zoning system solves this problem. Here's how a zoning system works: you can divide your home into two or more heating or cooling zones, each of which is controlled by a separate thermostat. Then, if you only need to adjust the temperature in a localized area of your home, you can activate only the thermostat which controls that zone, rather than unnecessarily paying to heat or cool your entire house.

There are numerous strategies you can use when designing a zoning system. The simplest approach is to create one zone that controls the lower floors and another that controls the upper floor(s). Alternately, you can design the system based on room occupancy. With this method, you might demarcate zones in your basement recreation room, your living room and your bedrooms. You can add as few or as many zones as you want; the more you add, the better your control over your indoor climate and the greater your potential for savings.

At Comfort Services, we strive to help homeowners in the Columbia area save energy and money without sacrificing their comfort. If you'd like to learn more about zoning systems, or if you need expert advice in the design and installation of a system for your home, please don't hesitate to contact us. We're always happy to help.