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Zoning an HVAC

1,544 Views | 8 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by VAXMaster
Gig Em5014
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AG
My wife and I purchased a 2 story home and we'd like to set up some zones within the house to cut down on our utilities.
Has anyone done this? Is there a specific company to use, can it be installed without a professional, is it worth the money?
lockett93
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AG
Do you need a new HVAC system? My opinion is that zoning a system sized for the whole house that was not designed by the manufacturer to be zoned doesn't work very well. You end up with too much cold air coming to the zone causing it to short cycle on and off too often. This doesn't allow for reduction in humidity and thus reduces comfort.

A newer system with variable speed fan and multistage compressor with zoning is awesome.

Gig Em5014
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AG
We're waiting on the HVAC inspection but we're hoping we don't need an entirely new system. Would doing just two zones (upstairs and downstairs) still have the same issues, in your opinion?
Diggity
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AG
I would doubt you'll get a signficant reduction if the system wasn't designed for zoning in the first place.

Payback likely isn't there.
MemphisAg1
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AG
Built a house in CS recently, and we have two AC units.

One unit heats/cools common areas (kitchen, dining, laundry, great room, game room) in roughly half of the house.

The other unit is split into separate zones for 4 bedrooms and an office. Each of these rooms has its own thermostat and return air. Cost $700 to add this functionality.

Best investment ever. Our kids or guests can set their bedroom to whatever temp they like, and it's contained to that room. I can hang out in my office/man-room comfortably while my wife chills the master BR down to sub-zero.

They install an electronic circuit board in the attic that controls how much air each room gets -- and for how long -- to keep it at the desired temp.

Pete Morgan with Morgan Air Conditioning did the work.

JP76
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MemphisAg1 said:

Built a house in CS recently, and we have two AC units.

One unit heats/cools common areas (kitchen, dining, laundry, great room, game room) in roughly half of the house.

The other unit is split into separate zones for 4 bedrooms and an office. Each of these rooms has its own thermostat and return air. Cost $700 to add this functionality.


Best investment ever. Our kids or guests can set their bedroom to whatever temp they like, and it's contained to that room. I can hang out in my office/man-room comfortably while my wife chills the master BR down to sub-zero.

They install an electronic circuit board in the attic that controls how much air each room gets -- and for how long -- to keep it at the desired temp.

Pete Morgan with Morgan Air Conditioning did the work.





$700 seems really cheap. A good control board and 4 dampers cost that alone.

Do you know what brand the control board and dampers are ?
MemphisAg1
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AG
JP76 said:

MemphisAg1 said:

Built a house in CS recently, and we have two AC units.

One unit heats/cools common areas (kitchen, dining, laundry, great room, game room) in roughly half of the house.

The other unit is split into separate zones for 4 bedrooms and an office. Each of these rooms has its own thermostat and return air. Cost $700 to add this functionality.


Best investment ever. Our kids or guests can set their bedroom to whatever temp they like, and it's contained to that room. I can hang out in my office/man-room comfortably while my wife chills the master BR down to sub-zero.

They install an electronic circuit board in the attic that controls how much air each room gets -- and for how long -- to keep it at the desired temp.

Pete Morgan with Morgan Air Conditioning did the work.





$700 seems really cheap. A good control board and 4 dampers cost that alone.

Do you know what brand the control board and dampers are ?
Keep in mind this was new construction. The total AC/heat package (installation, ductwork, etc.) was just over $30k for a large single story just under 4kSF. The initial zone estimates were $1,200 each, but the common area side of the house didn't need one. And he was able to zone the other one with less control boards, etc than he originally thought, and it saved me $500, for a net zone cost of $700.

The AC brand was Bryant, and it was their evolution series.
lockett93
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AG
Bryant evolution (same as carrier infinity) are designed from the factory for zoning. We had the Bryant system in our last house. It uses a multi stage compressor that can run at different capacity, and includes a variable speed fan motor as well. It is also a smart system that doesn't use bypass dampers to dump extra air anywhere. It just slows the fan motor down and runs the compressor on lower capacity. It was very efficient.
AgCPA95
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AG
lockett93 said:

Bryant evolution (same as carrier infinity) are designed from the factory for zoning. We had the Bryant system in our last house. It uses a multi stage compressor that can run at different capacity, and includes a variable speed fan motor as well. It is also a smart system that doesn't use bypass dampers to dump extra air anywhere. It just slows the fan motor down and runs the compressor on lower capacity. It was very efficient.
We have the Carrier zoned system both upstairs and down as an original install. Also achieving great efficiency while keeping the humidity down by running a lower fan speeds a lot of the time.....house stays very comfortable.
VAXMaster
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AG
I would only consider retrofitting zoning to a fixed capacity system to deal with comfort issues. Unlikely to help with utility bills.
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