Ducted heating and air conditioning systems are built for buildings that have the same temperature and ventilation requirements in every room. If you require custom HVAC settings, having a zoned system may help you save on annual heating and cooling costs. In today’s post, air conditioning and heating repair company M & M Heating & Air Conditioning Service Co. discusses how a zoned HVAC system can help you save money.
How Does Zoning Work?
A typical ducted HVAC system uses an air handler to distribute warm or cooled air from a furnace or air conditioner, controlled by a thermostat. Ideally, this means every room in the building receives the same amount of conditioned air. Factors like air leaks and solar heat passing through the windows may cause the actual room conditions to vary. Some rooms might be perfectly comfortable, but other rooms may not be.
Zoning allows occupants to create custom HVAC settings in each zone. On a standard central heat and air conditioning system, zoning can be achieved to some degree by installing dampers for each room, complete with controls that allow the occupant to adjust airflow. More accurate zoning can be achieved with mini-split or ductless air conditioning systems, which allow the occupant control over temperature, airflow and humidity level in each room.
Does Zoning Help Save Money?
The key advantage of a zoned HVAC system is that it provides heating, cooling and ventilation only where it’s needed, which means the energy usage will be focused on only those rooms, resulting in less energy use compared to running a whole-house system. Most of the savings will come from the focused energy usage: running a whole-home system to heat and cool a few rooms consumes more energy than running multiple smaller systems. Since the workload is spread across multiple smaller systems, there’s less chance of overworking the HVAC system and causing an unexpected breakdown, which also means savings on your repair and maintenance budget.
Contact M & M for Your HVAC Needs
Need help with HVAC zoning or other concerns, like furnace repair? Call M & M Heating & Air Conditioning Service Co. at (209) 952-6580 or fill out our contact form to schedule an appointment.
