Is your home airtight and insulated but you still notice temperature variations from your lower to upper floors or between separate sections of the home? This can be common because different areas of your home require different amounts of heating and cooling. Adding a zoning system can solve this issue and save energy.

Zoning systems work by giving you more control over heating and cooling your home. Instead of using one thermostat for the whole house, you will have thermostats to control the temperature of each individual zone.

Dampers installed in the ductwork help make customizing temperatures possible. A zone’s thermostat indicates to a control panel when the area requires more heating or cooling to match the temperature setting. In response, dampers in ducts leading to that zone are either opened or closed.

Benefits

A comfortable climate no matter where you are in the home — A zoning system gives you the ability to direct more heating or cooling where you want it without making other areas uncomfortable. For example, if your home has a southwest-facing home office, you will probably need more cooling there in the summer. That area of the home gets more sunlight, and computers and other office equipment add heat to the room. With a traditional single-zone HVAC system, getting this room comfortable could mean overcooling the rest of the home.
A decrease in energy use, which will lower your bills — Reducing heating or air conditioning to areas that don’t need it brings energy savings because zoning systems eliminate much wasted energy.
A healthier HVAC system — In single zone systems, the furnace or air conditioner has to push air throughout the entire home every time it comes on. In contrast, zoned systems create less wear on HVAC components. Your furnace and air conditioner do not have to work as hard, and this can lead to fewer repairs and a longer lasting system.

For professional advice or installation of a zoning system in your eastern North Carolina home, please contact us at Jackson & Sons.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Eastern North Carolina (including Wayne, Johnston, Greene, Lenoir, and Duplin Counties) about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).