If you discover that you have hot and cold spots through your Des Moines home, you’re not alone. This is a fairly regular occurrence. While it can seem like a larger 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:
- Lack of zoning or improper zoning
- Poorly designed or ineffectively sized duct systems
- Leaky or inefficiently insulated air ducts
- Improperly sized 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 set the air temperature in each zone. The system uses multiple thermostats that run dampers inside the ductwork of your forced-air system. The thermostats are working nonstop, reading the temperature of their designated zone, then open or close the dampers to match up with the thermostat's settings. This might be the key to keeping that one cold bedroom warm in the winter, or that hot box sunroom comfortable all summer. Plus, when you utilize it with a programmable thermostat, zoning can mean home energy savings of up to 35 percent.*
Poorly Designed or Ineffectively Sized Duct Systems
Some homeowners experience hot and cold spots simply because their home’s duct system isn’t sized correctly for the area that needs heated and cooled, or it’s poorly designed. We find this is pretty common in homes that were built before many of today’s tools and training were available. Unfortunately, even the most energy-efficient HVAC equipment can’t meet homeowners’ expectations if the duct system isn’t letting it do its job. In fact, a shoddy duct system could actually cause new equipment to work more often than necessary and shorten its lifespan. The pros at Kohles & Bach Heating & Cooling 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 may still be the cause of your home’s hot and cold spots. It’s normal for the ducts in a home to leak a bit over time. Pros like Kohles & Bach Heating & Cooling can look at your ducts and let you know if they ought to be sealed. They could also find that your ducts aren’t leaking, but they’re not properly insulated. Fortunately, this is also a pretty 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 feeling hot and cold spots throughout your home. Improperly sized HVAC equipment might be the issue. A system that is too small has to run harder to heat or cool your home, leaving you with hot and cold spots because it can’t keep up with 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 properly.
No matter what’s causing the hot and cold spots in your home, Kohles & Bach Heating & Cooling can help. Just give us a call at 515-207-6569 and we’ll help you figure it out and decide if you need air conditioning service, or any other types of HVAC service that will help you keep your home comfy.
*Source: U.S. Department of Energy statistics