Last Updated: February 27, 2024
With high energy costs associated with running centralized heating and air conditioning units, people are looking to reduce energy costs without compromising home comfort leading to the increased popularity of an HVAC zoning system. If there are multiple people in the home, the heating or cooling preferences of the family members may differ. Similarly, different areas in the house have different temperature requirements. A standard HVAC cannot handle such heating and cooling challenges.
What is HVAC Zoning?
HVAC zone system is a process of separating the heating and cooling system installed in your home. The temperature in the other house parts may vary by several degrees due to architecture, site orientation, and the rooms’ activities. For example, rooms with north-facing windows tend to have lower temperatures in winter, while rooms with south-facing windows tend to overheat during summer. Multi-story homes will be cooler on the lower floors and warmer on the upper floors. The kitchen space remains hot due to the constant cooking and heating, while the family room may be chilly if only a person stays there. A zoning system addresses these problems by grouping rooms with similar heating and cooling needs into isolated zones with individual thermostats.
Using one thermostat to control and compensate for the varying needs of the house can be expensive. The HVAC zoning process allows you to set customized temperature zones throughout the home for increased comfort and efficiency. HVAC zoning ensures that you don’t expend energy and pay higher charges to heat or cool unused areas in the house.
A zoning system can be used for residential locations and commercial establishments, improving efficiency, comfort, and energy-saving.
How Many Zones Do You Need in the House?
You need to identify the areas where you want to regulate the temperature.
You can determine the number of zones in the house based on your home arrangement, living preferences, square footage, floors, room layout, and space usage. The most common zoned system is between lower and upper floors as the temperature varies between the two floors. Other variations can include bifurcating the living room and common areas of the house.
How Does a Zoning System Work?
Conventional forced-air systems employ a single thermostat to control the heating and air conditioning of the entire house. Since there is one system, the heating or cooling system will expend energy while changing the temperatures throughout the home rather than in the desired area. You may close the vents manually to control the temperature in different parts of the house; however, this reduces airflow, which can ultimately strain and shorten the life of your HVAC system. An HVAC zoning system divides your home into clusters, with each cluster having its temperature set point and operating mode. You can install a dedicated thermostat for a zone that provides greater control over specific places in your home, increasing your comfort and reducing energy bills.
HVAC zoning utilizes a series of motorized dampers placed inside the ducts or at the air vents. These dampers open or close mechanically as needed to deliver airflow to each part of the home. Each zone has its thermostat, which communicates with the zoning system connected to a central control panel linked to the HVAC unit that regulates the heating and cooling operation of the house.
The motorized dampers resemble the operation of a valve system. When a thermostat from a particular zone requests heating or air conditioning, the dampers in that zone will enable the air to flow into that area while the dampers in the rest of the place remain closed. If another spot requests heating or cooling, the HVAC will open the corresponding dampers in the same vein. Once these zones reach the desired temperature, the thermostat will alert the dampers to close and stop the airflow.
Benefits of an HVAC Zoning System
Energy efficiency: A zoned HVAC system diverts air away from areas not in need of temperature control and ensures that you expend less energy to keep your home comfortable. This system can lower your monthly energy costs by reducing the usage of the air conditioner or heating system at any given time. The increased energy efficiency reduces the overall demand for your HVAC equipment and provides better comfort control. The zoning systems also lessen the stress on your overall system by operating efficiently and preventing breakdowns.
Personalized comfort levels: A zoned HVAC system reduces thermostat control conflict, allowing people in different house areas to adjust the temperatures independently.
Even temperatures: A zoned HVAC system ensures that naturally, colder areas can get the extra heat they need without pumping excess heat into warm spots.
Additional Savings: As per the U.S. Department of Energy, an HVAC zoning system can save homeowners up to 30% on a typical heating and cooling bill by improving the efficiency of your heating and cooling systems.
Improved air quality: zoned systems keep the air in one room from spreading to other rooms and reduce allergens, pet dander, dust, and pollen throughout the house. This is especially helpful for the elderly or people who are susceptible to allergies or have respiratory issues.
Temperature Control: The zoning system provides better temperature control by accommodating areas with special needs, such as rooms with more windows or sun exposure, without disrupting comfort in others.
Energy Savings: Running a single unit to cool the entire house is expensive. A zoning system reduces energy wastage by avoiding cooling in unused areas in your home, saving money and electricity over time.
Longer Equipment Life: With a zoning system, your HVAC won’t have to work as hard to maintain a precise temperature throughout your home, reducing the draw on the overall system, putting less stress on the unit, and extending the entire system’s life.
Two Units in One: A ductless zoning system streamlines the heating and cooling services by combining them into one unit using a heat pump or individual ductless units. This helps in cutting down on maintenance costs, upkeep, and ductwork expenses.
Businesses that deal with fresh produce can significantly benefit from a zoned HVAC system as they can focus the cooling on areas specifically kept to protect the perishable products.
Disadvantages of Zoned HVAC System
Since the zoned HVAC system employs multiple components and is more complex than traditional units, the increased complexity of the system also calls for more maintenance. It can take much time to diagnose if there is a problem or the system malfunctions and ends up being costly, especially for a business premise. You’ll require regular checkups from a professional technician to keep the system running well.
Installation Cost: Zoned HVAC systems are comparatively expensive to install, requiring an upfront investment. A zoned system needs a two-stage air conditioner and a variable speed blower on the furnace, and these units cost more than single-stage units. Although you can offset this additional cost in the long run from the money saved on monthly energy bills due to the increased efficiency and lower operating costs.
Lost Air: Some critics stress that zoned ac systems aren’t as efficient as traditional ductwork even with all dampers fully opened in the house. However, if the zoned system is installed appropriately, there will be a minor difference in your overall AC functioning.
The system cannot deliver enough air to a small area to allow the equipment to cycle properly.
Why Should You Consider a Zoned HVAC System?
While you can convert or retrofit any forced-air system for zone control and even install a zoned HVAC system in any home with ductwork. However, this system is not suitable for every house.
Zoned heating and cooling works best in larger homes where there’s plenty of space to separate into zones and that have below of the conditions:
- Multi-story homes
- Finished attics and basements
- Cathedral, vaulted or high ceilings
- Picture windows, bay windows, or large glass windows
- Expansive rooms or extra wings
- Guest rooms or spare bedrooms that are rarely used
- A living space over your garage.
- Elderly in the house
- Unevenly cooled places
- Large unused indoor spaces
Alternatives to Zoned HVAC System
A zoned HVAC system is not the only option for personalized comfort levels in your home. You can also consider a ductless heating and cooling system.
This system employs multiple air handlers located throughout the house to control and optimize temperatures. A single outdoor unit connects to multiple indoor units, with each unit operating independently with its thermostat. This system allows you to turn to heat and to cool off right at the air handler in each part of your house, similar to a ducted zoned HVAC system.
How to Install a Zoned HVAC System
Zoned HVAC systems can be configured to meet individual needs and come in ducted and ductless models. While installing a zoned system is straightforward, it’s not a do-it-yourself job and should be left to the professionals. Most single-zoned split systems have three main components: a controller, an outdoor unit, and an indoor unit. A technician has to mount the units, connect the refrigerant lines and make a few electrical connections. Based on the number of zones being installed, the job can take one to three days.
How to Convert an Existing Heating and Cooling System into a Zone?
Control Panel: The control panel is the brain of the zoning operation and communicates between the dampers, thermostats, and the HVAC system.
Thermostats: Thermostats read the temperature in each zone or room of the house and signal the control panel to adjust the area’s temperature if it is too low or high.
Zone Dampers: They are installed in the ductwork and regulate to zones in the house. Depending on the requirement, dampers automatically close and open. You can also install a modulating controller to open the dampers partway to meet the demands of each zone. However, this installation will come at an extra cost.
The HVAC System: The HVAC system features a furnace combined with an AC, an air handler, and a heat pump. It also comes with 1-20 or more motor-driven dampers. Their purpose is to control the flow of air.
Temperature Control: This system requires a temperature control and monitoring device to monitor each zone separately and adjust the temperatures accordingly. You can install a thermostat in each zone to control and monitor the temperature. Another option is to have a system with multi-zone thermostats and sensors. This means that each zone will have sensors, which will relay information to the central thermostat. In turn, the thermostat controls how each area becomes air-conditioned.