Many homes can benefit from multiple HVAC zones around the house. Temperatures tend to naturally vary between the kitchen, the bedrooms, and the common rooms. Unfortunately, the standard single thermostat controlling heating and cooling only provides a single temperature for all people in all parts of the house. The result: Inevitably, some areas end up hotter or colder than occupants might prefer, and electricity and gas bills may be higher than need be.
Fortunately, zoning technology now offers a solution to sustain different temperatures in different HVAC zones utilizing only the existing single, standard AC or furnace. Here’s how a typical home system with HVAC zones works:
- Electrically operated dampers are installed inside the HVAC ductwork. These dampers function to direct cooled or heated air to certain rooms or areas in the home.
- Each zone includes a separate independent thermostat. The thermostat communicates with a central controller that signals the dampers throughout the house to open and close.
- For example, if the thermostat in Zone 1 signals for more cooled or heated air, the system opens the damper to allow conditioned airflow into that zone only.
- At the same time, the thermostat in Zone 2 or 3 may be reaching its desired thermostat setting. As that occurs, the controller closes the dampers, stopping the flow of cooling or heating into that zone.
- If the temperatures in all zones in the house are at the chosen thermostat setting, the system closes all dampers.
Life in the Zone
A zoning system can provide a number of advantages:
- Temperature control can be fine-tuned according to the specific location and usage of each zone, as well as the particular preferences of occupants present in that zone.
- Cooled or heated airflow isn’t wasted on unoccupied areas of the house when it isn’t required. This improves HVAC energy efficiency, lowers costs, and reduces wear and tear on HVAC components.
- Occupants throughout all areas of the home are more comfortable, so squabbles over the thermostat setting are eliminated.
Ask the Jackson & Sons professionals for more details about the benefits of HVAC zones in your home.
