So if they ask people to cut back on electricity use, can you cut back AC to just a few rooms to chill in? Or are you stuck with the whole house?
You could close vents to some rooms and thus prioritize cooling to certain areas but for most homes its probable not anywhere close to perfect.
Not usually, but you can close the vents in certain rooms and close the door to reduce the amount of air pushed through them. And some fancier thermostats may have multiple remote sensors you can use to tell the thermostat to maintain temperature in certain places while ignoring others.
And some fancier thermostats may have multiple remote sensors you can use to tell the thermostat to maintain temperature in certain places while ignoring others.
So… yes?
Most newer houses have Zone systems…basically separate thermostats to control different areas of the house. Most commonly to separate out control over the first and second floors, but it can be a lot more elaborate.
The hardware involved is usually a single large HVAC unit with variable speed fans, a damper system that controls airflow to the different zones, thermostats for each zone, and a control board to make everything work together.
I retrofitted my 90’s two level house with a zoning system, it’s probably one of the best upgrades I have ever done to a house.
Cool. Do the dampers have automatic controls on them? Does it work with heat too?
Typically it’s a single air handler and one set of ductwork for both the furnace and the AC, so the damper is used in both cases.
The control board is the brain behind everything working together…it knows what zones are calling for service, opens/closes the appropriate dampers, tells the HVAC unit what to do and how fast to run the blower.
It’s all automated, I just set the heating/cooling thresholds and schedules on the thermostats.
The main problems are the single points of failure…the HVAC unit and the control board primarily. Lose either one and you have no climate control at all.
Mini-Split ductless systems are becoming more popular here tho. It wouldn’t surprise me if they become the standard for new builds in 20 years.
We close the vents on the rooms we don’t use much. Also, we have two units so we only cool the downstairs during the day and the upstairs at night. We can only get about 25 degrees below outside temps, so it’s often 78-80f indoors.