If you want your Augusta, Georgia, home to be as comfortable as possible, it’s important that you prevent the occurrence of hot spots. Hot spots have a variety of causes, but regardless of the reason, they can greatly reduce your comfort. Fortunately, getting rid of hot spots is a lot easier than you might think. It only requires a little bit of planning, preparation, and assistance from your heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning professional.
Address Your Windows
The windows in your home can be one of the biggest reasons for uncomfortable hot spots. If you have windows that are constantly exposed to sunlight, that room will naturally be hotter. Fortunately, this problem is very easy to fix.
The easiest way to prevent sunlight from causing hot spots in your home is to keep your blinds closed during the day. Closing your blinds will block out the light and help to lower the temperature of the room. If you don’t like keeping your blinds closed during the day, you can also add film treatments to your windows that can limit the amount of UV light that makes its way into your house.
Zoning Your House
Room location is another common cause of hot spots. For example, rooms on the second floor of your home will almost always be warmer than lower-level rooms due to the fact that hot air rises. Also, rooms that are far away from your air conditioner may not get as much cool air as rooms closer to the unit.
If you think that room location is the likely cause of the hot spots in your home, you might consider setting up a zoned heating and cooling system in your house. A zoned system means that you’ll heat and cool each room or zoned areas individually, which will make it a lot easier to maintain a comfortable temperature in the problem areas of your house.
Install a Ceiling Fan
Your ceilings can be a big cause of hot spots in your house, especially if they are high ceilings. Rooms with high ceilings have a lot more space to cool, which can make them warmer than other areas of your house. If the rooms are also exposed to direct sunlight throughout the day, the problem will be even more pronounced.
If you have a room with high ceilings in your house that’s frequently too hot, installing a ceiling fan may be the most effective solution. A fan will help air circulate in the room and can make your large space much cooler and more comfortable.
Schedule a Ductwork Inspection
Leaks in your ductwork can be another cause of hot spots in your home. Cool air travels through the ductwork to various areas of your house, so when there’s a leak, certain areas may not receive as much cool air as other areas.
When you notice hot spots in your house, it may be a good idea to call your HVAC company to schedule a ductwork inspection. Your technician can visually inspect your ductwork and find any small holes or seams in the joints where air may be leaking out of your system. If there are leaks, your technician can fix them and hopefully remove the hot spots from your home.
Buy a New Air Conditioner
If you’ve tried all of these fixes and there are still hot spots in your house, then it’s possible that your air conditioner is too small for the size of your house. An undersized air conditioner simply won’t have enough power to keep every room in your house cool, causing some areas to be hotter than others.
Before installing a new air conditioner, you should have a professional come to your home to perform heating and cooling load calculations. With these calculations, your HVAC professional can help you properly size your new system so that you won’t have to worry about pesky hot spots.
If you’d like help getting rid of the hot spots in your home, call Doc Savage Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. today at 706-426-9262. We can inspect your ductwork, install a new system, or anything else you may need to get rid of your hot spots.
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