Central air conditioning systems (or ducted systems as they are also know) often contain a series of different zones. So what is a zone in regards to air conditioning? The following article describes what zones are, what they do and why they are so important to include in your air conditioning system.
1) What Zones Do – Zones are basically little junction boxes that can either open or close sections of the ducting. These zones allow the user to direct what rooms the air conditioner can blow into. Most air conditioners can only run about half the home at any one time, and zones allow you to choose which rooms to have on and which ones to have off.
2) Flexibility – The main advantage of zones is that they give your cooling system flexibility. Zones allow you to choose which rooms you want to heat / cool and allows you to turn off rooms that you do not want to be serviced.
3) Reduce Power Usage – By only running the zones you need, you can actually save a lot of money. Running rooms that have no one in is a waste of money. Zoning however lets you cool / heat only the rooms you are in which will save power.
4) Save Money – Saving on power means you are also saving money. Using less zones means you will have more money in your back pocket.
So that is what a zone is. Next time you get a hvac quote, be sure to tell the contractor that you want lots of zones because of the reasons outlined above.