Zoning Solutions

Multi-story homes

The most common challenge homeowners experience with multi-story homes is called air stratification. It is when the warm air rises and cooler air falls in your home and is the most common and well recognized need for zoning. Whether it is a sweltering second floor during the summer months or a basement that is always cold, you can’t stop heat from rising and cool air from falling to the lowest levels. Zoning eliminates this occurrence by pushing more concentrated air to the harder to condition spaces while closing off those which are already at a desired temperature.

Changing lifestyles

As people’s lives change they tend to alter the way their home is occupied. The best examples are the empty Nester, parents with a new baby or the family that welcomes an aging relative into the home. In each of these cases, not all family members share the same comfort needs or follow the same lifestyle pattern when occupying various areas of the home. For instance, temperature needs with the elderly or very young children can be more extreme and may spend the majority of their time in one area throughout the day.

Home additions

As you look to improve your home by adding on living spaces, you may be faced with a new set of comfort challenges. Bonus rooms, sun rooms, finished basements and other similar room additions try to force more out of the existing heating and cooling system which may be unable to accommodate the new layouts. New additions tend to be better insulated than the original home structure, causing more air to be trapped and become stagnant. Zoning helps maximize operation of your equipment while improving the indoor air quality in new spaces by constantly circulating the air.

Exposure to the sun

Depending on your home’s design, your heating and cooling can be significantly impacted by the movement and overall exposure to the sun. As the sun moves throughout the day, it heats up certain areas, while leaving others cooler. If your thermostat is in one of the sunny areas, the room temperature will be drastically different than in the unexposed rooms. The placement and size of your windows can affect the temperature throughout your home. Rooms with many windows can quickly cool off once the sun has moved for the day, forcing your system to work harder to satisfy the difference.

Zoning Your Home

Before you meet with your contractor to discuss zoning your home, determine which rooms and areas would benefit from having customized control. Group rooms together with similar usage patterns or areas that may be troublesome to condition. When you are laying out your zones, or distinct areas, there are a few things to keep in mind.

• South facing rooms may be combined
• Rooms that are shaded or face the north should become another zone
• Combine rooms on the same level when the home has multiple stories
• The master bedroom, a bonus room or a basement might make up their own zone
• Rooms with common usage patterns such as combining bedrooms together (provided they are on the same level) Consider creating equally sized zone areas