How to Find and Fix Hot and Cold Spots

July 06, 2017

If you realize that you have hot and cold spots through your Justin home, you’re not alone. This is a relatively normal occurrence. While it might seem like a larger concern, the good news is that the normal causes of hot and cold spots are normally easy to fix with a normal air conditioning service. The most likely causes for hot and cold spots are:

  • Zero zoning or improper zoning
  • Poorly designed or ineffectively sized duct systems
  • Leaky or poorly insulated air ducts
  • HVAC equipment that is too big or too small

Lack of Zoning or Improper Zoning
A zoning system divides your home into separate areas, known as “zones,” and means you can customize the air temperature in each zone. The system uses multiple thermostats that operate dampers inside the ductwork of your forced-air system. The thermostats are always reading the temperature of their designated zone, then open or close the dampers to match up with the thermostat's settings. This may be the missing piece to keeping that one cold bedroom warm in the winter, or that smoldering 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 the wrong size for the room that needs heated and cooled, or it’s improperly designed. We find this is pretty normal in homes that were built before many of today’s tools and training were around. Unfortunately, even the most energy-efficient HVAC equipment can’t meet homeowners’ expectations if the duct system isn’t allowing it to do its job. In fact, a bad duct system could actually cause new equipment to work harder than needed and shorten its lifespan. The experts at Pepper AC & Htg Inc can help you determine if your duct work is working for your home.

Leaky or Inadequately Insulated Air Ducts
Even if your duct system is properly designed and sized for your home, it might still be the source of your home’s hot and cold spots. It’s commonplace for the ducts in a home to become leaky over time. Professionals like Pepper AC & Htg Inc can check your ducts and let you know if they should be sealed. They may 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 maybe your air duct system is just fine and you have a good zoning system, but you’re still experiencing hot and cold spots around your home. Improperly sized HVAC equipment could be the cause. A system that is too small has to operate harder to heat or cool your home, meaning you have 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 leave you with problems because it’ll cycle on and off too often to do its job correctly.

No matter what’s causing the hot and cold spots in your home, Pepper AC & Htg Inc can help. Just give us a call at 940-202-1184 and we’ll help you decide what the issue is and decide if you need air conditioning service, or any other types of HVAC service that could help you keep your home cozy. 

 
 
*Source: U.S. Department of Energy statistics