June 9, 2014

After your mortgage payment, keeping your home at a comfortable temperature is your biggest monthly expense.

The HVAC system in your home can account for up to 40% of your monthly utility bills. Sadly, most homeowners are wasting a lot of that money maintaining livable temperatures in spaces where no one is spending any time. HVAC zoning allows you to control the temperature in different areas of your home, in order for you not to waste precious conditioned air in unused rooms. You control the zones with your digital thermostat, setting the temperature for each assigned area. This type of addition to your HVAC system will require the expertise of a well-known HVAC company.

Designing HVAC Zones for St. Louis, MO. Area Homes

There are a number of reasons why certain areas of your home may need more attention than others besides whether space is being used. For example, heat rises, so if you live in a two-story home the bottom level will always feel a few degrees cooler than the upper. The position of windows in a room can also change its needs in comparison to others. A room with a big bay window facing the east will capture the morning sunrays to help warm it up while rooms facing the north or south will be cooler.

HVAC Zoning helps eliminate hot and cold spots inside your home by allowing you to direct where you want the treated air to go. Multiple thermostats are used but are all connected to one main control panel so that you can easily make adjustments. This control panel is connected to the ductwork of your HVAC system and has the ability to open and close vents as your direct it.

Modifying the Ductwork

Since significant ductwork is required to make the best use of a zoning system in your home, you will need to contact a reliable HVAC company. They may be able to install special vents in your existing ductwork instead of having to replace all of it. The size of the rooms and the number of vents have an impact on how many rooms can be considered for each zone, but typically you can have up to four per zone.

Installing a Programmable Digital Thermostat

Ideally, you will want to combine an HVAC zoning system with a programmable digital thermostat so that you can have the heated or cooled air directed where you need it at the right time. For example, you can set the zone for your living spaces to be comfortable in the early evening when your family is arriving home and spending time together and then for the bedrooms in the late evening when it is time to go to sleep.

It has been estimated by the U.S. Department of Energy that a properly used zoning system will save a homeowner close to 30 percent of their typical heating and cooling cost. That is a substantial saving that will quickly offset the cost of installing one. Call Scott-Lee Heating Company at (314) 200-0788 for more information.