Consider a zoning control system
In large buildings it is common for different areas to have different heating requirements (both in terms of occupancy hours, and temperature requirements). A zoning control system enables each of these areas to be controlled separately and centrally, whilst still being heated by the same central heating system. If you have a centrally heated building with areas that would ideally be heated at different times, and to different temperatures, a zoning control system would be likely to bring you significant energy savings.
This can be put in very simple terms. Imagine if you only had one switch that controlled every light in your house. That is what a house is like without zones.
[edit] Zoned Temperature Control
One room too hot while another is too cold? Not with Aprilaire Zoned Comfort Control. Do you turn on all the lights in your entire home with just one light switch? Of course not. You turn on lights when and where you need them. The Aprilaire Zoned Comfort Control system extends this simple, energy-saving concept to home temperature control.
The only place where the temperature matches the thermostat is at the thermostat. Different areas of your house have different temperature needs as do individual family members. What may be cool to one member may be warm to another. Heat rises up, leaving the main floor cool and second floor bedrooms hot. Cool air settles into the basement. Windows to the south soak up the sun making certain rooms uncomfortably hot, while northerly winds may make some rooms feel too cool.
Add some of today’s most desired home design features, and the problem gets worse. Large glass expanses, vaulted or cathedral ceilings, finished basements, solariums, lofts — they all can cause temperatures to vary dramatically from one part of a house to the next. Expecting one thermostat in a single room to control temperature variations throughout your home is asking the impossible.
The Aprilaire Zoned Comfort Control system increases comfort by controlling specific temperature needs in designated areas of your home — making you and your family more comfortable while saving money by using less energy for heating and cooling needs.
What is Zoned Comfort Control?
Aprilaire Zoned Comfort Control is a system of more than one thermostat, electrically connected to a control panel which operates a number of dampers in your forced air heating/cooling system. Conditioned air is then distributed to various parts of your home as needed.
The system can be installed in new or existing homes helping you achieve total indoor comfort. Plus there is no service required — only changes in living habits may make it necessary for system adjustments from time to time.
“Zone heating and cooling is [also] used in some homes. This allows you to reduce the heating and cooling to an unused part of your home, and can substantially reduce your energy bills.”
[edit] Why Do I Need It?
You need Zoned Comfort Control in your home if one or more of these conditions exist:
- It contains more than one level
- There are large, open areas such as vaulted ceilings or lofts, an atrium or a solarium
- There is a bonus room off the back or over the garage
- There are finished rooms in the basement or attic
- It has a room or rooms with expansive glass areas
- Family lifestyles dictate different temperatures in different areas of the home
- Heating and cooling temperature patterns vary at different times of the day
- A portion of the home is built over a concrete slab floor
- Your home rambles in many directions like a ranch or has wings extending off the main living area
