Is My Air Conditioner Zoned Correctly?
Zoning Your Central Air System
Zoning your air conditioning system is all about personal preference. It is a practical method of saving energy and maximizing comfort by designing specific zones to heat and cool your home only when and where it is wanted. As long as each zone is conditioned to the temperature set at the thermostat, it is working correctly.
Zoning Basics
A central air system that has not been zoned conditions air for the entire home. It is controlled by a single thermostat. With zoning you have the convenience of multiple thermostats for different areas of the home.
This is made possible with the use of dampers, circular motorized discs installed within the air duct network that directs conditioned air to its corresponding zone.
Your preferred HVAC contractor can work with you to properly zone your home air conditioning. Generally, the fewer zones you have, the better and more economically the system works. For example, it is very popular for homes to set the living room, dining room and den to one thermostat and the bedrooms to a second. Alternatively, the downstairs and upstairs each divide into a zone themselves.
You can condition as many zones as desired as long as they are both calling for heating or cooling. If zone 1 is calling for heating and zone 2 is calling for cooling at the same time the first zone to come on will run for up to 20 minutes then switch to the other zone for up to 20 minutes. This will continue until all zones are satisfied.
Benefits to Zoning
There are several benefits to zoning:
- Personalized air conditioning
- Energy-efficient
- Air conditioning happens only where you need it
Most new homes today come with zoned air conditioning systems. Outfitting your existing central air system with zoning is beneficial with the right contractor and there are a few extra equipment pieces needed to zone your AC.
Basic additional equipment pieces include:
- Zone Control Board
- Thermostat compatible with the zone control board
- Zone Damper
Problems with Zoning
Unless your HVAC contractor missed a step in the installation process, zoning is not at all problematic. Proper zoning works as a single-thermostat central air system would and exhibits the same symptoms if system issues were present.
The biggest problems would be:
- Inadequate or uneven airflow
- Insufficient air conditioning
The only other main concern for problems arising with zoned homes is whether or not the mechanics of the damper are intact. If they are not, it should be noticeable as the air you receive in one zone does not correspond to its thermostat. To fix this issue, have your HVAC technician visit to help you reset the thermostats of your home to match your preferences.
Proper Zoning with Service Champions
As technicians of a Diamond Certified heating and air conditioning company, we wish to bring you the highest quality of customer service and technical care.
AC zoning with Service Champions is done without errors and completed with convenience and ease.
We train for 150 hours each year in our own private training facility. Through hands-on training, we master new technology and techniques so when we service your home, your furnace and air conditioner are handled with the utmost care in the most advanced methods available in the HVAC industry.
If you would like our help in zoning your home, call one of our friendly representatives to schedule an appointment at a time convenient for you.
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