Eliminating the Frustrating Hot and Cold Spots

Do you ever feel cold drafts or dramatic swings in temperature when your equipment isn’t running? Have you ever awoke sweating so much that you needed to sleep the rest of the night on the couch just to say cool? Do find it difficult to keep one area of your house comfortable while the rest of the house can be a difference of several degrees or more in temperature?

Many homeowners experience this and it can be difficult, and altogether frustrating. If you experience hot and cold spots inside your home, it doesn’t have to be that way.

• How does it happen? Hot and cold spots, or temperature inconsistencies between one part of your house and another are relatively common. Unfortunately, most people think they have to live this way. The reality is however, once you identify the leading cause of the problem, more often than not there is a relatively simple solution. There are a few common problems that could be causing your home to be difficult to keep comfortable.
• Your air ducts are leaking. Leaky ductwork can be a real problem. First, they make balancing the temperature throughout your house nearly impossible. Compare your ductwork to a drinking straw. When you try to use a straw that is cracked or broken, getting the drink to come all the way through the straw can be really difficult. Just like that straw, when your air ducts are leaking, the heated or cooled air is not making its way through the entire system and instead, is lost through cracks and leaks along the way. Not only can leaky ducts make the comfort level in your home more difficult to control, they can reduce your heating and cooling system’s efficiency by as much as 20%. This means the unit will have to work harder to keep your home at a comfortable temperature. Leaky ducts can also contribute to other problems like poor air quality and fluctuating humidity levels throughout your house.
• Your ductwork is poorly insulated. Ductwork is typically made from thin sheet metal. When you combine this with its location within the home, which is commonly in exposed in spaces like attics, basements, and crawl spaces; regulating your indoor temperature can be difficult. According to the US Department of Energy, if left uninsulated, ducts can lose 10% – 30% of the energy used to heat and cool your home. Duct work that is properly insulated, like Gold Flex Ductwork, offers minimal loss in heated or cooled air and less condensation which can make delivering even temperatures to every room in your home much easier to do.
• Your Home isn’t zoned properly, or not at all. It could just be the temperature imbalance you’re noticing doesn’t really have anything to do with an inefficient HVAC system. Rather your home requires a customized zoning system to keep you comfortable. Zoning allows you to independently control the comfort level of different “zones” inside your house. For example, if you live in a two-story home and you spend much if not all of your day downstairs, a zoning system might be right for you. The downstairs can maintain a manageable temperature while the upstairs can be cooler for sleeping and you don’t have to adjust your thermostat to manipulate the comfort level you’re trying to achieve for any particular space. The plumbing and electrical system within a home is already zoned. When you flip a switch, or turn on a faucet or appliance, only the lights, faucets or appliances associated with that switch come on. Unlike the plumbing and electrical, an “un-zoned” house heats or cools the entire house whether you are occupying all areas simultaneously or not. What’s more, your HVAC system consumes more energy than all electrical and plumbing fixtures combined. With zoning, not only is your home more comfortable with temperatures balanced based on your individualized preferences, but the energy savings can be big.
• Your air conditioner or furnace is not the right size for your home.
  When it comes to your home’s HVAC, bigger isn’t always better. If your heating or cooling unit is too big or too small, it makes controlling your comfort very difficult and very expensive. An incorrectly sized unit will mean the temperatures in your house will not be consistent. Some areas will get too much and some not enough. Indoor humidity levels become difficult to control and the overall comfort level of your home is compromised. This situation often becomes a problem after an addition is placed on the home. If you think the sizing of your heating or cooling unit might be to blame, consult with a professional to help you determine the appropriate size for the square footage of your home.
• Take control of your comfort. If you’re experiencing hot and cold spots throughout your home, you can do something about it. Sometimes discovering the root of the problem is half the battle. Contacting a professional HVAC company like Service Champions can help you determine what’s causing your discomfort.

Interested in eliminating those hot and cold spots in your home? Contact us online today to learn more!