What if all of the lights in your home were on one switch? You might turn them off when you’re asleep or away, but whenever you’re home, every single light bulb in your home is on. That would be an incredible waste of energy and your light bulbs would wear out and need a replacement quickly.

Well, this is exactly how many homes are heated and cooled. Every room, whether there’s someone in them or not, is heated equally. That is, of course, unless you have created zones in your home. HVAC zoning systems include different thermostats for each zone. As a result, you can control how much energy your home uses to heat and cool, save on utility bills and increase indoor comfort without overworking your heating or A/C.

With zoned temperature control, each zone you create in your home has its own thermostat and each thermostat can be set at a different temperature. All thermostats are connected to an overall control panel that operates your heating and air conditioning system. The result is total control over your home’s environment. For example, you can keep your bedrooms cooler while bumping the temperature way up in areas of your home that are rarely used. The system relies on a series of automatic dampers in the ducts that shift A/C or heating according to need. For example, an HVAC damper might close in the ducts that lead downstairs in order to more effectively cool the upstairs.

When to install an HVAC zoning system