Understanding zoning within the scope of HVAC

Dick Foster, Owner, ZoneFirst

New Jersey, USA, 28 February 2019: Zoning or zone damper system is a simple concept, similar to that of having a light switch in every room of your house or office, said Dick Foster, Owner, ZoneFirst. Almost all HVAC systems have one centrally located thermostat, which helps regulate heating and cooling systems in a house, he said. “Thermostats are placed in each zone and are not necessarily in every room, instead, they are placed in a group of rooms that have similar loads,” Foster said. The most common are the living room and the bedroom zones, wherein automatic dampers are placed in the ducts and have an open and close to direct the flow of conditioned air only to the zones needing it, he said.

Elaborating on zoning and its contribution to energy conservation, Foster said, “Zoning can significantly reduce the energy being consumed in homes and offices by conditioning zones that need heating and cooling.” Elaborating, he said, zone dampers prevent zones from being over-conditioned, while providing air only to the zones that require it. He added, “Zoning also balances temperatures and this has proven to reduce the energy consumption by up to 30%.”