When you’re heating or cooling your home, an unfortunate fact of life is that it’s going to be difficult to maintain consistent temperatures everywhere in your house. The fact that warm air rises and cold air sinks makes it almost impossible to achieve the same temperature everywhere in your home, especially if you live in a two-story house or one that’s large and rambling. Rooms on upper floors will be cooler than rooms on the ground floor, while basement rooms will be coldest of all. Family quarrels can erupt over who has control of the thermostat as everyone tries to set the HVAC system for a comfortable temperature.

In cases like this, a zoning system is a very effective solution. Zoning systems, also known as zoned heating and cooling, give you the option for separate temperature control systems in individual rooms or on entire floors of your home. A zoning system uses a series of independent motorized dampers and thermostats to control temperatures in single rooms or specific areas. This allows individuals better control over the heating or cooling level of their rooms. Zoning systems can also account for significant savings on your utility bills, reducing energy use by as much as 25 percent.

A zoning system also gives you the option of separating your home into individual zones or areas that have similar heating or cooling needs during specific times of the day. When everyone is away at work and school, for example, a zoning system allows you to reduce the amount of heating or cooling in the most common living areas, such as kitchens, bathrooms, dens, living rooms and playrooms. In the evening, the system can be set to warm up or cool off these spaces before everyone returns home.

Usually, a home will need no more than three individual zones to accommodate temperature preferences and comfort control needs.

Since 1969, Bradley Mechanical has been Central Virginia’s source for HVAC, plumbing and indoor air quality needs. Contact us todayfor answers to your questions about zoned heating, to receive an estimate on a zoning system, or to schedule an installation.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about zoning systems and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide. 

Bradley Mechanical services Richmond, Chesterfield, Glenn Allen, Petersburg, Hopewell, Colonial Heights and surrounding areas. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!     

Thermometer image via Shutterstock