If you’re set to install a zoning system in your home, you’re already well on your way to increased home comfort and improved energy savings. That’s because a zoning system allows you to develop custom cooling and heating for your home by grouping certain areas together, and controlling each one with a separate thermostat so that you can adjust the temperature in each zone to your liking.
To achieve customized zones that work, you’ll need to keep these design principles in mind:
- Group each floor as a separate zone – Because warm air naturally rises, the second floor of a two-story home will typically require more cooling (and less heating) than the first floor. Therefore, a second floor should never be grouped in a zone with a first floor, or else you won’t be able to achieve comfort on both floors with just one thermostat.
- Group add-on spaces separately – New additions to your home likely will have utilized more efficient building materials — and have different thermal needs — so group these separately from older portions of your home.
- Separate rooms with exterior walls from those with interior walls – Walls that sit along your home’s exterior will succumb to heat gain and heat loss through the seasons, whereas interior walls are not as subject to the same heat transfer. As much as you can, avoid grouping these rooms together.
- Separate rooms that have higher solar heat gain – As with heat transfer through walls, the amount of heat that moves through windows will impact the temperature of a room. If you have a room or rooms with large window expanses or windows that face south or west, group these separately from rooms that don’t.
- Locate the thermostat for success – If one thermostat will control several rooms, install it in the room that you use most for optimal comfort.
Get the most out of your zoning system, taking time to carefully plan how to group the zones in your home. For expert advice on zoning design or any other home comfort need, please contact us at Mowery Heating, Air Conditioning and Plumbing today. We’ve been serving homeowners in the greater Indianapolis area for more than 40 years.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Brownsburg, Indiana and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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