If you realize that you have hot and cold spots in your Laguna Niguel home, you’re not alone. This is a relatively regular occurrence. While it might seem like a larger concern, the good news is that the common causes of hot and cold spots are typically easy to fix with a simple air conditioning service. The most routine 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
- HVAC equipment that is too big or too small
Lack of Zoning or Improper Zoning
A zoning system breaks up your home into separate areas, known as “zones,” and means you can determine the air temperature in each zone. The system involves multiple thermostats that control dampers inside the ductwork of your forced-air system. The thermostats constantly read the temperature of their specific zone, then open or close the dampers according to the thermostat's settings. This might be the missing link to keeping that one frozen bedroom warm in the winter, or that heat chamber sunroom comfortable all summer. Plus, when it’s used with a programmable thermostat, zoning could mean home energy savings of up to 35 percent.*
Poorly Designed or Ineffectively Sized Duct Systems
Some homeowners end up with hot and cold spots simply because their home’s duct system is not sized appropriately for the area that needs heated and cooled, or it’s poorly designed. We find this is fairly common in homes that were built before much of today’s tools and training were around. Unfortunately, even the most energy-efficient HVAC equipment can’t match homeowners’ expectations if the duct system isn’t allowing it to do its job. In fact, a poor duct system could actually cause new equipment to work more frequently than necessary and decrease its life. The pros at Ocean Air Conditioning and Heating can help you decide 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 Ocean Air Conditioning and Heating can inspect your ducts and let you know if they need sealed. They could also find that your ducts aren’t leaking, but they’re not correctly insulated. Fortunately, this is also a generally routine fix.
Improperly Sized HVAC Equipment
So maybe your air duct system is just fine and you have a good zoning system, but you’re still experiencing hot and cold spots throughout your home. Improperly sized HVAC equipment may be the cause. 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 handle 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 correctly.
No matter what’s the culprit of the hot and cold spots in your home, Ocean Air Conditioning and Heating can help. Just give us a call at 949-317-4175 and we’ll help you pinpoint the problem and figure out 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