Benefits of Zoned Heating and Air Conditioning
Living with other people, especially family, can be complicated because everyone has his or her own preferences and comforts. What channel is on the television? Do you have whole milk or 2% in the fridge? Whose turn is it to fold the laundry? What temperature should the house be? All these little things must be negotiated when living with others. However, fighting over the thermostat does not need to be one of the things your family has to deal with anymore due to the benefits of zoned heating and air conditioning. Save yourself some hair-pulling, some stress, and some money by switching to a zoned HVAC system.
How Zoned Heating and Air Conditioning Works
When installing a zoned HVAC system, you will need to determine how many zones you want in your home. Unless you live in a really big house, you probably won’t need more than 2 or 3 zones. Most people split the zones between the first and second floors of their home. The first floor is the zone that is used the most during the day and evening, while the second floor is the zone that is used at night and during the early morning. If you have a large bonus room or a finished basement that you don’t use all the time, you might consider designating that as your third zone. Having separate zones allows you to heat or cool each area individually. If you don’t go upstairs during the daytime a lot, you can set that zone to run minimally during the day and then kick up to a more comfortable temperature when you go to bed. If you have a bonus room or basement that isn’t used all the time, you can keep that zone turned off until it’s time to use the space. Each zone comes with its own thermostat so you can tailor the temperature to the specific space. No more turning up the heat in an already-warm room to accomodate a colder room next door. Each zone also comes with its own air duct damper, which controls the airflow. Traditionally dampers would blow air throughout the entire HVAC system and the whole house. By having multiple dampers, this allows you to select which areas of the house the air goes to.
Benefits of Zoned Heating and Air Conditioning
Save money and energy
Your HVAC system can work more efficiently by only producing enough cool or warm air for a specific zone, rather than the whole house. The thermostats are also programmable, which means you can set your zones to turn off or turn on based on your schedule. If you are at work all day, there is no sense in keeping your home at a comfortable temperature when no one is there. A benefit of zone heating and air conditioning lies in the programmable thermostats. By programming your thermostat to change a few degrees when you are out of the house can save you a lot of money. A great benefit of zoned heating and air conditioning is that it can reduce your energy costs by up to 35%.
Comfort
Home is a place where you should be able to relax and recuperate from the rigors of day-to-day life. Being too hot or cold takes away from your relaxation, and bickering with housemates or family over temperatures does too. Another benefit of zoned heating and air conditioning is that you can make your space more comfortable based on who is using the space. Dad likes his office space nice and cool but Mom is always buried under blankets to stay warm while she watches television. Now both can be happy because of the zones.
Control
Many programmable thermostats are also equipped with apps that go on your smartphone. This allows you to maintain control of your HVAC system, whether you are sitting on the couch, at work, or out of the country. No more worrying that you forgot to turn the thermostat down when you left for work, just hop on your app and adjust as needed. These apps also keep track of how much energy you are using to cool and heat your home. You can see trends and get tips on how to save more money on your energy bill.
There are many benefits of zoned heating and air conditioning, and if it time to replace your HVAC unit, this is the perfect opportunity to look into installing a zoned system. At Weather Crafters, we have a lot experience with zoned systems and can recommend the best design for your home. Please give us a call with any questions, or if you just want to talk about options.
For more information on the benefits of zoned heating and air conditioning, check out https://modernize.com/home-ideas/12694/pros-cons-multi-zone-heating-cooling
