If you're thinking about upgrading your heating and air conditioning system, you should carefully consider how installing a zoning system will benefit you. These benefits include increased energy efficiency and making your home more comfortable. Zoning systems work by allowing the homeowner to ensure that conditioned air is only being sent to those areas that require it. Below is a description of how zoning systems work, the homes that can best benefit from zoning and what those benefits are.

What Are Zoning Systems?

In a zoning system, a series of thermostats are placed throughout your home. Each thermostat controls a different area or "zone." When one of the thermostats alerts the control unit that conditioned air is needed, the controller closes dampers to the other zones and only sends conditioned air to the zone (or zones) that requests it at that time.

Using the system, you can choose to have a uniform temperature throughout your home or adjust each zone's temperature to suit the preferences of family members. You can even turn off the air going to areas that are not in use.

Can Your Home Benefit from Zoning?

If some areas of your home are hard to cool or heat at certain times of the year, it may be that you will benefit from installing a zoning system. If your home has the following features, they could be making it very difficult to maintain a uniform temperature throughout your home.

• A larger than average home
• Multiple stories
• Alterations or additions made after the installation of your heating and cooling system
• Some of the additions were built on concrete slabs
• Family members have varying temperature preferences

Zoning System Benefits

When you install a zoning system in your home, you will enjoy three main benefits:

1. Improved Comfort: Installing a zoning system can make your home much more comfortable for you and your family. Regardless of the layout of your home, your new zoning system can put an end to cold and hot spots by customizing the airflow for each area.

2. Improved Energy Efficiency: An old-fashioned single thermostat system adjusts the air throughout the entire home at the same time. Even if only one part of the home actually needs a temperature change, the system has to supply heated or cooled air to the entire home. This wastes an enormous amount of energy. Zoning allows your system to run at less than full capacity for most of the time, which saves you money.

3. Increased System Longevity: Because your heating and cooling unit will not have to run on full all the time, it will greatly reduce the wear and tear on the system. This can reduce the number of repairs you have to have done and expand the lifespan of the equipment.