What to do about uneven HVAC distribution?

Question:

Hi Robert, I have enjoyed your insightful answers to various construction-related questions for many years and I now have one of my own. I am the original owner of a home in Santa Clarita that was built in 1988. This is a rather long single-story home with about 70 linear feet of living space. My issue is that the central air and heating source is in the garage at the opposite end of where our master bedroom and bath are located, and this area is the last to receive warm or cool air due to a distribution system that branches out to other rooms before reaching the far end of the house.

I would like to resolve this issue and understand that there are at least three (possibly more) potential solutions.

One of my neighbors installed a second HVAC system at the far end of his home but that seems like the most expensive option available. Two other options I’ve heard of include creating heating/cooling zones that can open or shut airflow to specific rooms or re-ducting the air distribution to a central attic location and then distributing it further down the line to the far rooms and returning some of the air back to the rooms that are closer to the HVAC source.

I would greatly appreciate your advice regarding this issue and, if possible, I would like to know of qualified and trusted contractors who could be employed to resolve this issue. Thanks, and regards.

— Dennis F.

Answer:

Dennis, the options are correct. Often if you close the diffusers in the individual rooms starting at the front of the house where the HVAC system branches off and open the ones at the rear fully, this will force the air at the front to move to the path of least resistance at the rear rooms. What you’re doing is balancing the air flow from the front to the rear.

If that doesn’t work, then the other option is to install a split system in the rear, which you can regulate. They are on the market and are quite affordable. If you need a recommendation for a split system let me know.

Robert Lamoureux has more than 40 years of experience as a general contractor, with separate licenses in electrical and plumbing contracting. He owns IMS Construction Inc. in Valencia. His opinions are his own, not necessarily those of The Signal. Opinions expressed in this column are not meant to replace the recommendations of a qualified contractor after that contractor has made a thorough visual inspection. Email questions to Robert at robert@imsconstruction.com