San Diego is a beautiful city with great weather most of the year. However, we still rely on heating and cooling systems. Plus, some homes may experience hot and cold spots from time to time. This can be due to various factors, including home orientation, window types, and the insulation in your home. Your HVAC system and ductwork also play an important role in keeping temperatures even throughout your indoor spaces. If you have hot and cold spots in your home, there are a few things you can do to address the issue.
Make Sure You Have an Appropriately Sized AC and Furnace
If you’ve made changes to the size of your home or recently moved into a property with an improperly installed HVAC system, your hot and cold spots may be due to an incorrectly sized heating and cooling system. If your furnace or AC is too small for the space, it will not be able to heat or cool your entire home effectively. This can lead to hot and cold spots. A system that is too big for your space, on the other hand, will heat or cool your home up too quickly. Without gradual, even heating and cooling, you will also end up with hot and cold spots.
At Friar's Heating and Air, we can inspect your HVAC system and ensure that it is the appropriate size for your space. If it isn’t, we can walk you through your options and help you find a solution. When we install a replacement system, our team will calculate your heating and cooling needs based on a number of factors. These include your home’s square footage, layout, and orientation. Even the number of doors and windows in your home can affect your HVAC system needs, so we will take those into account as well. Once you have a new, appropriately sized system, you can enjoy even heating and cooling throughout all your interior spaces.
Consider HVAC Zoning
For larger homes, HVAC zoning can be a great solution to hot and cold spots. Zoning systems work by dividing your home into different temperature zones, each with its own thermostat. That way, you can keep the temperature in each zone comfortable without wasting energy by cooling or heating areas of your home that don’t need it.
For example, if you have a two-story home, you might want to keep the temperature on the first floor a few degrees warmer than on the second floor. Or, if you have a sunroom that gets very hot in the afternoon, you can set the temperature in that room to be a few degrees cooler than the rest of the house. Zoning systems can also help you save money on your energy bills because you can set the temperature in each zone to be as high or low as you want without affecting the other zones. Our professionals will help evaluate your home and determine the best way to zone it.
While any type of HVAC system can support heating and cooling zoning, ductless mini-split systems are particularly efficient. These systems use an outdoor unit connected to individual air handlers in different rooms of your home. These air handlers each have their own thermostat, so each room with a handler can be set to a different temperature. Mini-split systems don’t use ductwork either. Without ductwork, all air is delivered exactly where it’s needed rather than being lost through duct gaps and holes, saving you money in the long run.
Install Quality Thermostats
Quality thermostats are also important when it comes to keeping your home at an even and comfortable temperature. If you don’t have a good thermostat, it can be hard to maintain a consistent temperature throughout your home. Thermostats act as the brain of your HVAC system, telling it to turn on and off to reach the temperature you set.
Thermostat issues can cause various problems, including short cycling. When your HVAC system repeatedly turns on and off, it can lead to hot and cold spots. If you haven’t had a new thermostat for a number of years, investing in a modern unit can improve your indoor comfort and save you money. We can help you find a good quality thermostat that will work well in your home and keep the temperature consistent.
Get Your Ducts Cleaned, Repaired, or Replaced
By distributing conditioned air throughout your home, your ducts play a very crucial role in keeping your rooms comfortable. Over time, ductwork can get very dirty. Dust, dirt, and other debris can build up in the ducts and create blockages that reduce airflow. When air isn’t flowing properly through your ducts, it can’t reach all areas of your home, creating areas that are hotter or colder than others. Without scheduling regular ductwork cleaning, mold and mildew can also grow in your ducts. Mold and mildew can affect your airflow and pose a threat to your health. Fortunately, a thorough cleaning from a company like Friar's Heating and Air will ensure that your ducts are open and free of threats to your air quality.
In addition to getting dirty, ducts are also prone to developing cracks, gaps, and holes. Damaged ducts lose a significant amount of air and make it difficult to heat and cool your home properly. In some homes, the ductwork was improperly designed and installed in the first place. This increases the risk of damage and doesn’t support proper airflow. A properly designed duct system will improve your HVAC system’s efficiency and ensure that all areas of your home are heated and cooled evenly.
Schedule HVAC Maintenance
Sometimes, uneven heating and cooling is simply the result of an unmaintained HVAC system. At Friar's Heating and Air, we recommend that you schedule an HVAC tune-up at least once a year. During a tune-up, our team will inspect all HVAC components and address any issues affecting the system’s performance. We’ll also lubricate and clean moving parts, inspect your ductwork, calibrate your thermostat, and clean or replace your air filters.
Ensuring that your filters are clean is particularly important because a dirty filter can inhibit airflow in the same way that dirty ducts do. It’s important to note that filters need to be regularly inspected and changed in between your maintenance appointments. In general, filters should be changed every 90 days, but you may need more frequent replacements if you have pets or someone in your home has allergies. Keeping clean filters in your system will ensure that air is flowing properly and that you aren’t breathing in dust, pet dander, pollen, and other contaminants.
Contact the Pros for Help
If you’re experiencing hot and cold spots in your San Diego-area home or business, look no further than [company name] for help. Founded in 2018, we are determined to fulfill the mission of providing high-quality services at affordable prices. We offer a wide range of HVAC services, including installation, repair, and maintenance of ACs, furnaces, heat pumps, and ductless systems. Our team also offers ductwork, zoning, and indoor air quality services. For installation projects, we provide financing options for customers with approved credit. Contact us today to learn more about our services or to schedule a free consultation.
