Zoning is simply a way of dividing your home into areas with similar heating and cooling requirements, with each zone being controlled by its own thermostat. Every home has at least two zones; the living area and the sleeping area, which are seldom used at the same time. Others are typically divided between upstairs and downstairs. These areas are often occupied at different times
and have different heating and cooling loads. Zoning these areas allows you to only condition occupied zones and lets you set the temperature you want, when you want it, and where you want it. When combined with programmable thermostats, zoning can conserve energy up to 30 %, which can add up to hundreds of dollars per year. With features like multiple floors, expansive glass areas and vaulted ceilings, keeping each part of the house at a comfortable temperature is virtually impossible. This is further aggravated when a homes heating and cooling system is controlled by a single thermostat. That thermostat primarily affects only the room in which it is located, and the temperature it senses is not representative of the whole house.
With a zone system, you have a separate thermostat sensing temperature in each zone. This allows you to send heating and cooling only to the parts of the house that need it and not to the ones that don't.
There are just a few basic guidelines when dividing a home into zones; Rooms within a zone should be in the same area or level of a home. You can zone by level or combine north/south and east/west orientations. It is also best when each zone has its own accessible duct in order to install the zone damper. For a free estimate or more information call Seliga Heating and Cooling at 481-7333.