A relatively common problem that homeowners tend to have in our area is uneven cooling in their home. At least, this is the case for homeowners whose living spaces are 2 stories or more, and especially those with an attic. A properly installed and serviced air conditioner will certainly help resolve this issue, but uneven cooling can still be a problem in bigger homes. The good news is, there are steps you can take to mitigate this problem and make sure that your household is as cool as possible, as affordably as possible. Read on to learn more!
Are You Sure You Have the Right AC System in Place?
It’s entirely possible that your air conditioner wasn’t properly matched, or sized, to your home to begin with. The chances of this are low if you worked with an experienced contractor such as HendrixAir. But it’s possible that your air conditioner is either too small or even too large for your current home. As you can probably guess on your own, an air conditioner that is too small isn’t powerful enough to cool your entire home. No matter how big a space is, if the air conditioner’s size and power don’t match (rather, if its “tonnage” doesn’t match) it cannot effectively cool the space. You can actually have the same problem with an oversized, or overpowered system. How so? Well, what happens is that an oversized system cools down the space too fast and doesn’t extract enough heated air from your home during each cycle. It goes through a process called short-cycling, where it rapidly turns on and off.
Not only will you not feel as comfortable in your home, but short-cycling exacerbates wear and tear, leading to frequent repair needs and maybe even premature system replacement. If you’re thinking of getting a new air conditioner, be sure to work with a team who knows how to conduct an accurate heat load calculation in order to determine the exact size of air conditioner your home needs.
Consider Zone Control
Zone control systems are basically central air conditioners. The only difference is actually in the ductwork setup. With a zone control system, dampers are placed within the ductwork that can redirect the air. And before you ask, no, you cannot achieve the same effect by simply closing off the vents to the rooms that are getting more cooling. This creates an imbalance and can lead to more AC problems rather than less. Another good solution is having a ductless system installed. Ductless systems are set up like central air conditioners, but operate on heat pump technology (this means they can cool and heat your home). An outdoor unit for a ductless system can be hooked up to 4 air handlers, each of which can be controlled independently of each other with their own thermostats. This provides the best in efficiency and can help resolve uneven cooling in a multi-story home.
HendrixAir, Inc. is your trusted resource for quality AC service in Brunswick, GA. Contact us today and see how we’re “Delivering friendly, five-star service, every time!