If you own a home here in Murrieta, you should already know how important your HVAC system is. You rely on it all summer to beat the heat and in the winter whenever there’s a cold snap. But did you know that there’s an HVAC add-on that can improve your HVAC’s performance, efficiency, and your comfort simultaneously? It’s called an HVAC zoning system. It provides you with better control over temperatures throughout your home. If you install one, you can unlock a new level of comfort for your home and much more. Here’s an explanation of what an HVAC zoning system is and its most important benefits.
What is an HVAC Zoning System?
An HVAC zoning system, as its name suggests, is an HVAC add-on that splits your home into multiple zones. In that configuration, each zone has its own thermostat, but all zones share a single central HVAC system. The zoning system itself relies on motorized dampers installed in your home’s ductwork and a central control board. So, whenever one of your thermostats requests heating or cooling, the system opens and closes its dampers as required.
When You Might Want or Need an HVAC Zoning System
Although any home can benefit from an HVAC zoning system, certain home configurations make one especially useful. If your home has any of the following features, you should consider installing one.
- Multiple floors
- Large windows
- Rooms with high ceilings
- A finished attic or basement
- A home with multiple wings
- A sunroom
Any of those features would make it difficult for a single-zone HVAC system to maintain uniform comfort in your home. This is because they all increase or decrease the need for HVAC in parts of your home relative to others. That can create hot and cold spots that your HVAC system can never fully eliminate.
Besides installing a zoned HVAC system in your home, there’s only one other way to try and resolve such issues. You can have a qualified HVAC technician attempt to rebalance your home’s HVAC ductwork. This involves measuring the air output from the vents in your home and manually adjusting ductwork dampers. In some cases, that can help with hot and cold spots. However, the moment conditions change in your home, you might need to go through the process all over again. For example, if you replace your home’s windows or install new shade plants outside, you will need another rebalancing.
The Benefits of an HVAC Zoning System
In most cases, it’s possible to retrofit any central ducted HVAC system to include a zoning system. It isn’t something you must install along with a new HVAC. And if you choose to add one to your home, you can look forward to the following benefits.
Customizable Comfort
With an HVAC zoning system, you can keep your home’s temperature even and comfortable. For example, splitting your home into upstairs and downstairs zones is a common approach. In the summer, this allows you to keep the upstairs cool despite heat rising into it from below. Plus, you can do so without making the downstairs too cold for comfort. Or, you might group your home’s bedrooms into their own zone. This would let you maintain a comfortable sleeping environment without overheating or overcooling the rest of your home.
Increased Energy Efficiency
By adding a zoning system to your home’s HVAC, you will also improve your overall energy efficiency. This happens because your HVAC won’t need to run as often or for as long to meet the needs of each zone. With a zoning system in place, you get heated or cooled air only where it’s needed. That mode of operation can result in efficiency gains of between 10% and 15%. If you happen to have a multi-stage or variable-speed HVAC system, you could gain even more efficiency than that. That’s because your system could then ramp its speed down to match the output needed for each zone.
Reduced HVAC Wear and Tear
Another benefit of HVAC zoning systems is that they reduce wear and tear on your HVAC equipment overall. They do this by reducing wasteful HVAC operation, which cuts down on the total runtime. As a result, your system will have a longer useful lifespan and should need fewer repairs. When you consider the costs involved in an HVAC replacement, that alone makes a zoning system worth its cost.
Easy Integration With Smart Thermostats
Zoning systems work especially well with smart thermostats. This is because they can maximize the utility of a smart thermostat’s most important features. For example, a zoned system provides a smart thermostat with more temperature data to learn from. It also allows a smart thermostat to more precisely manage the temperature in your home.
Other HVAC Zoning Solutions
It’s worth pointing out that there’s another way you can add HVAC zoning capacity to your home. It’s to upgrade your home to use a ductless mini-split heat pump system. In many ways, those systems take the idea of zoning to its furthest possible extent. This is because mini-splits pair a single outdoor unit with up to eight indoor air handlers.
With a mini-split HVAC system, each air handler forms its own heating and cooling zone. In practice, this can give you individualized temperature controls in every room. Better still, it allows you to achieve maximum energy savings relative to a ducted central HVAC system. By obviating the need for ductwork, a mini-split can cut up to 30 percent off of your home’s energy bills. This is because leaky ducts and thermal losses can waste that much of the energy your HVAC now uses. Plus, a mini-split allows you to turn off individual units whenever you wish. That way, you only spend money heating and cooling the parts of your home that you’re actively using.
Your Local HVAC Zoning Experts
For over 24 years, We Care Plumbing, Heating, & Air has been the go-to HVAC solution provider in Murrieta and throughout Southern California. Our team of NATE-certified HVAC technicians can help you decide if an HVAC zoning system is right for your home. And if so, they can install one with minimal disruption to you and your family.
We even install ductless mini-split HVAC systems, should one be the right solution for your home. We also offer comprehensive HVAC installation, repair, and maintenance services, as well as complete plumbing services and drain care. We can also assist you with all of your indoor air quality needs.
And if you need financing to help pay for modifications to your HVAC system, we offer it on approved credit. Add to that our Better Business Bureau accreditation and A+ rating, and you know you’re dealing with the best. Our long list of glowing customer reviews provides ample additional proof of that. So, if you need an HVAC zoning system installed in your home, call We Care Plumbing, Heating, & Air today!