How to Find and Fix Hot and Cold Spots

July 06, 2017

If you find that you have hot and cold spots through your Tomball home, you’re not alone. This is a fairly regular issue. While it can seem like a big problem, the good news is that the normal causes of hot and cold spots are normally easy to fix with a simple air conditioning service. The most likely causes for hot and cold spots are:

  • Zero zoning or improper zoning
  • Poorly designed or ineffectively sized duct systems
  • Leaky or poorly insulated air ducts
  • The wrong size of HVAC equipment

Lack of Zoning or Improper Zoning
A zoning system divides your home into separate areas, known as “zones,” and means you can set the air temperature in each zone. The system uses multiple thermostats that operate dampers within the ductwork of your forced-air system. The thermostats are always reading the temperature of their assigned zone, then open or close the dampers to meet the thermostat's settings. This could be the missing link to keeping that one frozen bedroom warm in the winter, or that hot box sunroom comfortable all summer. Plus, when you use it with a programmable thermostat, zoning could mean home energy savings of up to 35 percent.*

Poorly Designed or Ineffectively Sized Duct Systems
Some homeowners have hot and cold spots simply because their home’s duct system is the wrong size for the space that needs heated and cooled, or it’s improperly designed. We find this is fairly commonplace in homes that were built before a lot of today’s tools and training were available. Unfortunately, even the most energy-efficient HVAC equipment can’t match homeowners’ expectations if the duct system isn’t letting it do its job. In fact, a bad duct system could actually cause new equipment to work harder than needed and shorten its life. The experts at Premium Air Services LLC can help you determine if your duct work is working for your home.

Leaky or Inadequately Insulated Air Ducts
Even if your duct system is properly designed and sized for your home, it might still be at the root of your home’s hot and cold spots. It’s common for the ducts in a home to leak some over time. Pros like Premium Air Services LLC can check your ducts and let you know if they ought to be sealed. They might also find that your ducts aren’t leaking, but they’re not properly insulated. Fortunately, this is also a pretty routine fix.

Improperly Sized HVAC Equipment
So there’s a chance your air duct system is just fine and you have a good zoning system, but you’re still noticing hot and cold spots around your home. Improperly sized HVAC equipment could be the cause. A system that is too small has to work harder to heat or cool your home, which leaves hot and cold spots because it can’t handle the amount of space it needs to condition. Even a system that’s too big can cause problems because it’ll cycle on and off too often to do its job well.

No matter what’s the cause of the hot and cold spots in your home, Premium Air Services LLC can help. Just give us a call at 713-364-9957 and we’ll help you pinpoint the problem and determine if you need air conditioning service, or any other types of HVAC service that could help you keep your home comfy. 

 
 
*Source: U.S. Department of Energy statistics