How to Avoid Uneven Heating and Cooling in Your Home
In order to compensate for uneven temperatures, many homeowners simply open and close vents, wear layers or fiddle with the thermostat throughout the day. However, Aris Parviz of Able Air-1, Inc. says adjusting your thermostat or shutting vents to compensate for uneven heating or cooling is a waste of your time and money. And uneven airflow can even hurt your HVAC system itself, increasing your heating and cooling costs and reducing the life of your system. Here, he talks about what you can do to ensure consistent temperatures throughout your home.
Uneven heating or cooling is one of the most common reasons for homeowners to contact an HVAC contractor. Hot and cold spots throughout the home are not only annoying, theyre also inefficient. Numerous factors can contribute to uneven heating or cooling, but fortunately, they can all be remedied. Here are a few things that you can do to address uneven heating and cooling in your home.
Getting Your Homes Ductwork Inspected
Uneven temperatures can be caused by problems within your homes ductwork. If airflow to certain parts of the home is imbalanced, youll experience uneven heating or cooling in those areas. An airflow imbalance also causes your system to work overtime in order to compensate, which in turn will shorten your systems life and decrease its efficiency.
In order to create a balanced airflow, your HVAC contractor will need to inspect and assess the adequacy of the homes ductwork. If the ducts are not properly sized, its important to replace them with correctly-sized ones. Identifying leaks and blockages is also important, as leaks are a major contributor to inefficiency and uneven temperatures. If blockages are identified, they will be removed to restore airflow. Once the underlying causes of the imbalance have been identified, the appropriate repairs or replacements will be made to get your system functioning normally again.
Using Variable Speed Motors
Variable speed motors provide more even heating and cooling, and allow for more precise control of airflow throughout the home. By moving the air more slowly through the system, variable speed motors can help make a homes air filtration and moisture control systems more effective. They adjust the systems output based on the homes heating or cooling needs. They can also be helpful in situations where uneven heating or cooling is actually desired. If there are rooms in your home that are rarely used, you can save money by keeping them at a slightly higher or lower temperature than the other rooms in your home. This involves "zoning," which means customizing temperature settings for different areas of the home. In general, variable speed motors are the only systems that allow for zoning within the home.
Making Sure that You HVAC System Properly Sized
Just as youre experiencing discomfort due to uneven temperatures, your system is constantly trying to compensate, which means sky-high bills for you and the potential for expensive repairs.
Sometimes, an improperly-sized HVAC system may result in uneven heating or cooling. This could be the result of either an incorrect load calculation at the time of the systems installation or a homes heating and cooling needs changing over time. For example, It is common that an extra room is added or an area like an attic or basement is converted into living space. If your HVAC system is too small to properly heat or cool your home, uneven temperatures and system failures could result. To determine whether your HVAC system is properly sized, contact an HVAC professional for an up-to-date load calculation.
Aris Parviz is a writer for Yodle, a business directory and online advertising company. Find an HVAC contractor or more HVAC contractor articles at Yodle Consumer Guide.
