Only the nightly tussle over the remote control for the TV can compete with this one: someone upstairs is too warm and wants to turn the thermostat down, while someone on a lower level is grabbing a blanket on his way to turn the thermostat up.

Too warm, too cold and nobody feels just right — unless you install a zoning system. In addition to bringing greater comfort to people in different areas of your home, a zoning system can generate energy savings and help eliminate fights over the thermostat.

It may sound too good to be true, but it isn’t. Like the name implies, a zoning system requires that your home be divided into zones so that warm and cool air is practically and efficiently delivered based on its location and other factors, such as its exposure and number of windows.

Zoning systems are a natural fit for homes that can be “divided” rather easily, such as those with multiple levels, those with a large room addition, those with a meandering area located far from the main living area or those that contain lots of windows, such as a sun room or solarium.

A thermostat is installed in each of these zones so that the temperature can be set accordingly. This means that the crafter who is busy working on a project in the basement with a zoned thermostat set at 78 degrees can be just as comfortable as the bookworm who is curled up in bed with the thermostat set at 68 degrees. This may sound like a wide variable, but it really isn’t when you consider the law of physics: warm air rises, while cool air falls. This is why an upstairs room can be about 10 degrees warmer while a basement is 10 degrees cooler than rooms on the main level.

If temperatures are rising in your home, soothe the family feuds by calling All Year Heating, Air & Solar. We’ve installed countless zoning systems in the Sacramento area since 1969, and we know they’re efficient and can work wonders on multiple levels, quite literally.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about zoning systems and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Thermostat image via Shutterstock