How Much Does It Cost to Zone a House

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02-18-2011, 06:59 PM

Location: Cary 32 posts, read 202,472 times Reputation: 22

Does anyone know the typical cost to change a 1 zone home to a 2 zone home for heating and ac. We have a 2.3K sq foot home, hot air heated w/flexible ducts, and was wondering how much it would cost approx to make it into 2 zones w/o replacing the current HVAC unit. [LEFT][/LEFT]

02-18-2011, 07:08 PM

RVAtoCNC 1,442 posts, read 2,408,795 times Reputation: 924

Quote: Originally Posted by guyfromjersey Does anyone know the typical cost to change a 1 zone home to a 2 zone home for heating and ac. We have a 2.3K sq foot home, hot air heated w/flexible ducts, and was wondering how much it would cost approx to make it into 2 zones w/o replacing the current HVAC unit. [LEFT] [/LEFT] Before you make the decision to do this, what is the configuration of your home? We have a two story, but open living room/high ceiling to the second floor - with dual zone, we pay out the nose in winter because all the hot air goes upstairs, and on comes the aux heat to heat the downstairs. It's the opposite in the summer - our cooling bills are dirt cheap because all the cool air stays downstairs. I guess what I am saying is that whether you go to dual zone for an extra 5 grand or more, may depend on the configuration of your house - may wish to discuss with a disnterested HVAC friend of yours, if you have one.

02-19-2011, 07:01 AM

frankpc 2,456 posts, read 7,581,910 times Reputation: 1784

To do dual zone properly you'll need two HVAC units (compressor, air handler, etc) each sized to cover the area in their zone (typically 1st flr, 2nd flr) . So your existing unit is likely the wrong size too. Some duct work rearrangement is also required for the second air handler. The advantage of dual zones is independent operation which should allow more equal temps in your home. Also the ability to use two thermostats and potentially save on energy costs if one zone of your home is not used at certain times (i.e. all bedrooms upstairs). I have seen some schemes that use a variable damper to direct more air up or down depending on the season while still utilizing a single compressor. This might help alleviate any temp imbalance you currently have for far less cost than changing to a true two zone system. Probably need a pro to assess this ... RVAtoCNC - Hot air will rise and cold air will sink no matter the number of zones, so I'm missing why you blame two zone HVAC for this? Frank

02-19-2011, 07:45 AM

RVAtoCNC 1,442 posts, read 2,408,795 times Reputation: 924

Quote: Originally Posted by frankpc To do dual zone properly you'll need two HVAC units (compressor, air handler, etc) each sized to cover the area in their zone (typically 1st flr, 2nd flr) . So your existing unit is likely the wrong size too. Some duct work rearrangement is also required for the second air handler. The advantage of dual zones is independent operation which should allow more equal temps in your home. Also the ability to use two thermostats and potentially save on energy costs if one zone of your home is not used at certain times (i.e. all bedrooms upstairs). I have seen some schemes that use a variable damper to direct more air up or down depending on the season while still utilizing a single compressor. This might help alleviate any temp imbalance you currently have for far less cost than changing to a true two zone system. Probably need a pro to assess this ... RVAtoCNC - Hot air will rise and cold air will sink no matter the number of zones, so I'm missing why you blame two zone HVAC for this? Frank Not blaming the dual zone - blaming the high ceiling - with a house configuration like ours, dual zone is really a waste of money, but that's the way it was built - may as well just have one unit and do the close off vents routine.

02-19-2011, 07:49 AM

Starglow 2,322 posts, read 3,682,070 times Reputation: 2086

The cost depends on your particular needs, home design, current HVAC system size and ductwork design. The control system and labor required to install a multi-zone system is expensive, plus the ductwork and HVAC system must be sized properly for multi zoning with sufficient air returns. You might be able to fine tune your current HVAC system with airflow dampers or adding extra supply and/or return vents, but again there are a lot of variables to consider according to your particular home that affect final cost. You do not necessarily need two HVAC systems for zoning, but again it depends on your particular home construction and current HVAC system installation. The best thing to do is get a few cost estimates from HVAC contractors, but be warned you will probably get many different answers which can be frustrating.

02-19-2011, 08:35 AM

adlnc07 Location: Oxxford Hunt, Cary NC 4,428 posts, read 10,859,621 times Reputation: 4147

Quote: Originally Posted by frankpc I have seen some schemes that use a variable damper to direct more air up or down depending on the season while still utilizing a single compressor. This might help alleviate any temp imbalance you currently have for far less cost than changing to a true two zone system. I have a 2-story house with an open foyer and I was absolutely roasting on the second floor. I finally broke down, got up on a ladder and adjusted the damper for the second floor - the problem was solved! I don't know why I didn't try it before, but I'm glad I finally did. It took me two or three nights of fiddling with the damper and adjusting the thermostat but it worked out great. For the summer I'll need to head into the crawlspace because the other damper is down there - not looking forward to that, but at least I can get more cool air upstairs where I need it! Good luck!

02-19-2011, 11:12 AM

carcrazy67 Location: Near Falls Lake 3,539 posts, read 2,479,259 times Reputation: 3519

It may be possible to electronically zone the current system for dual zone control. This would work much better than a single zone system. I believe my sister paid about 2k to have it done a few years back. Should you decide to go with 2 separate units (which is much better) your current one would be improperly sized and require replacement. Thus you would be purchasing 2 systems-not one.

02-19-2011, 12:46 PM

4alark Location: Cary 272 posts, read 859,984 times Reputation: 251

We have a 2 story standard farm house about your same size and added a damper in the crawl space and it works like a charm. For further adjustments we close the first vent feeding off the inbound duct and this gives us all the control we need. Saved thousands! Last edited by 4alark; 02-19-2011 at 12:47 PM.. Reason: clarity

02-19-2011, 01:03 PM

arbyunc 2,669 posts, read 6,654,188 times Reputation: 3566

I just looked into this a couple of weeks ago as I had to replace one of my heat pumps. Just the equipment to do a dual-zone (off of one air handler unit), is about $2,000 over and above the cost of the heat pump. This doesn't include installation or running new ductwork (which will be required for the second zone).

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How Much Does It Cost to Zone a House

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