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I have a regular Central ac system, but was wondering if it's worth converting to zoning system and what would it cosist of? Can I do it myself my repacking the vents to smart vents along with my thermostat? Please advice. Thanks in advance.
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Think about it how much of a a/c season do you really deal with? Are you like many New Yorkers who turn the a/c off at night because it gets cooler than restart it the next afternoon because it is getting warm? Odds are the cost would be several thousand dollars for a savings of a few dollars a month, does that sound worth it to you?
What is a zoning system? And what are smart vents?
Quote:
Originally Posted by jme8378
I have a regular Central ac system, but was wondering if it's worth converting to zoning system and what would it cosist of? Can I do it myself my repacking the vents to smart vents along with my thermostat? Please advice. Thanks in advance.
Think about it how much of a a/c season do you really deal with? Are you like many New Yorkers who turn the a/c off at night because it gets cooler than restart it the next afternoon because it is getting warm? Odds are the cost would be several thousand dollars for a savings of a few dollars a month, does that sound worth it to you?
You've got a point. No I'll prob leave it on the majority of the day.
If you have a 2 story house, the PROPER way would be 2 separate units. Sure, more $, but the comfort alone is worth it. Also, i would guess after 8 yrs, they would be a wash $ wise, after saving electric using this set up. Most of the cooling demand on a 2 story house is the 2nd floor.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rocafeller05
What is a zoning system? And what are smart vents?
Like a blown air heating system the ducts are separated using automatic dampers to direct the air flow to a zone, usually upstairs/downstairs. Smart vents work like mini thermostats allowing just the right amount of air into a room allowing the rest to go where needed.
According to my heating & air guy you want all of the ducts in all of the rooms open because a/c works on its ability to remove heat (which we feel as cooling) and closing vents diminishes this efficiency.
The bigger issue to a/c effectiveness is the ducts, in the older homes they were not calculated/sized for the duel heating/cooling role. Most often they are too small which is fine for the heating role but that diminishes to a/c role. Another factor is many home owners just add a/c to their existing furnace which probably had its sizing calculated in the last century...
If you have a 2 story house, the PROPER way would be 2 separate units. Sure, more $, but the comfort alone is worth it. Also, i would guess after 8 yrs, they would be a wash $ wise, after saving electric using this set up. Most of the cooling demand on a 2 story house is the 2nd floor.
Yea That sounds a bit much.. I'll stick with it was Is.. House got cool real fast once the electricity came back on..so the insulation I feel is great.
No worth the money. I have one zone in my house I just run it all night anyway. If you want you should get solar before a 2nd zone.
Damn ok I appreciate your input. I believe I'm going to leave it as is. The house has good insulation.. And it got cool real quick once I turned it on.
That pretty much explains why you don’t see either of those type of systems installed out here. They wouldn’t work.
As posted above the right way to do it for a 2 story house is have 2 separate units serving each zone. Or if a small house you could get away with a multi head mini split system for the whole house.
Quote:
Originally Posted by VA Yankee
Like a blown air heating system the ducts are separated using automatic dampers to direct the air flow to a zone, usually upstairs/downstairs. Smart vents work like mini thermostats allowing just the right amount of air into a room allowing the rest to go where needed.
According to my heating & air guy you want all of the ducts in all of the rooms open because a/c works on its ability to remove heat (which we feel as cooling) and closing vents diminishes this efficiency.
The bigger issue to a/c effectiveness is the ducts, in the older homes they were not calculated/sized for the duel heating/cooling role. Most often they are too small which is fine for the heating role but that diminishes to a/c role. Another factor is many home owners just add a/c to their existing furnace which probably had its sizing calculated in the last century...
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