The Benefits of Zoned Heating and Air Conditioning. https://www.newcentralairconditioner.com/ If properly installed and designed by a home heating and cooling professional, zoned heating and air conditioning can dramatically increase your comfort and energy efficiency. 1.) Energy Savings When combined with programmable thermostats and Energy Saver mode, you can save up to 35% on your energy costs. By only having to produce a certain amount of conditioned air for the different “zones,” your HVAC system won’t have to work as hard. 2.) Easily Integrated Zoned heating and air conditioning can easily be integrated with your current system. Ductless mini-split systems can also be used for your zoned heating and air conditioning — no ducts required. Keep in mind, however, that for multi-zone applications, you will need to use an outside heat pump. 3.) Improved Comfort and Control Zoned heating and air conditioning are as simple or sophisticated that you want it to be. You can use your programmable thermostat and smartphone apps to have complete control of your home, or you can simply change the temperature manually. Regardless, by being able to change the temperature of each zone, you will have more control and comfort than ever without having to disturb other household members. 4.) Works for Both Heating & Cooling Zoned heating and cooling is a convenient and efficient solution for homes with multiple levels, sprawling designs, and large open areas that formerly relied on supplemental heating and cooling methods.

THE WRONG PERSON, oh wait was I yelling? My husband drives the rest of us insane about temperature. We live in Miami. Yes, hot, humid, over-90-degrees-for-months-at-a-time Miami. My husband is known by our son as '3% body fat dad'. He is 6'5", weighs 180 pounds and is always, always cold. His preferred thermostat setting is 80 degrees. For years we compromised at 78 but as I've entered my lady change phase of life, that just doesn't work. Frankly I don't even know if I have hot flashes because every time I feel suddenly overwhelmed by heat the thermo is set at 82 degrees and the house is in fact sweltering! What really infuriates the kids and me is his habit of cranking the thermostat waaaay up high when he gets up for a bathroom run at 1-2 am and nobody is awake to reset it to humanly bearable level. My daughter and I get headaches from the heat, my son sweats through his bedding...and my husband isn't even IN the AC part of the house! He sleeps in our Florida room which isn't on the central system. He also sleeps under a blanket, all year long. Even when that room is itself 90-92 degrees. I have fantasies of having a locked plexiglass case around our thermostat with me holding the only key.

NEWS from CPSC U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Office of Information and Public Affairs Washington, DC 20207 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 30, 2007 Release #07-298 Firm's Recall Hotline: (800) 642-4328 CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772 CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908 Berko Electric Toe-Space Heaters Recalled Due to Fire Hazard WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. Name of Products: Toe-Space Electric Heaters Units: About 84,000 Manufacturer: Berko Electric, of Peru, Ind., now known as Marley Engineered Products, of Bennettsville, S.C. Hazard: If the fan stops working and the heater continues to run, the unit can overheat, posing a fire hazard. Incidents/Injuries: Marley has received 29 reports of fires resulting in property damage. No injuries have been reported. Description: The recall involves electric, toe-space heaters typically installed in kitchens and bathrooms at floor level in the recessed space under cabinets. The recall includes Berko Electric catalog numbers TS, TS-1 and TS-1A and Emerson Electric "Chromalox Comfort Heating" and "Environmental Products" catalog number KSH2000. The heater is controlled by a wall thermostat or a thermostat mounted on the front of the heater. The heater has a removable, black metal grille that measures 23 1/2 -inches wide and 3 1/2 -inches tall with five sets of openings, each with seven horizontal louvers. Sold by: Berko Electric wholesale distributors nationwide from 1972 through February 1985 and Emerson Electric wholesale distributors from 1980 through February 1985 for between $70 and $170. Manufactured in: United States Remedy: Consumers should immediately turn off the heater at the thermostat and, if possible, at the home's circuit breaker or fuse. Consumers should contact Marley to determine if they have a recalled heater and for further instructions. Consumer Contact: For additional information, call Marley at (800) 642-4328 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm's Web site at www.berkomep.com/ts.htm To see this recall on CPSC's web site, including pictures of the recalled products, please go to: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07298.html ********************************************************

I saw that Shark Tank episode, and it's actually part of what put me off of the product. It was a couple of guys looking to make some money, who had no experience whatsoever in the HVAC industry. I have a lot of respect for Robert Herjavec, but again, he has no HVAC experience. I would not base my purchase of an HVAC related product on his investing decision. I have seen a great deal of issues in the field with the Nest thermostat. I tried tried one in my own home, but removed it after a few months. Again, it was not created by people who know HVAC. That showed in the product, and when you called them for support. It seemed to do a fine job of controlling basic systems that just had a gas furnace and A/C (though I noticed a lot of reliability issues, and it allowed excessive temperature swings in my opinion), but when I put it on more complicated systems, like multistage, heat pump, and dual fuel systems, it just choked and could not control them in an efficient and comfortable manner. Many people reported significantly increased electric bills. The fact that these smart vent people are partnering with them speaks volumes to me. Again - CNET is a great place to go for reviews on consumer electronics, but they know nothing about HVAC. Same deal with Lowe's and Samsung. Their ability to get funding from these places doesn't really answer any of my concerns about the product. I agree that the article I linked was mainly written with heating systems in mind, but a lot of it applies to cooling systems too. You don't just risk system damage by restricting airflow on a furnace. There is plenty of risk with an A/C only system as well. Low airflow can lead to coil freezeups, blower failure, and compressor failure. I don't understand what you mean about "relieving pressure" when using schedules. As long as vents are being closed off, static pressure in the ductwork increases. I'm glad these companies are at least acknowledging the pressure issue. But their websites have next to no specific information about what they are doing to get around the problem. I would want to know what type of sensor they are actually using to measure the pressure. Are they just measuring it at individual vents or are they taking into account readings from all the vents together? Also, what are they doing with the pressure readings they are getting from these sensors? At what point do they determine static pressure is excessive? That can be different for different systems. How do they specifically know what kind of pressure buildup for your particular duct system? That kind of thing requires a qualified technician to measure, and these systems are not designed to be put in by qualified technicians. Let's assume these systems can actually get accurate static pressure readings for the system, and somehow know when airflow is being restricted too much for a particular system (based on what I've read about these, I feel that both of these assumptions are a stretch). When pressure does get too high, what will the system be able to do about that? A traditional zoning system installed by a contractor could ramp down the variable speed blower, lowering pressure while still allowing zones to be closed off. A more basic zoning system installed on a non variable speed HVAC system could open a bypass damper installed by the contractor, allowing some the excess supply air to go straight to the return duct, again lowering static pressure while allowing zones to close. But these smart vents? The only thing they'll be able to do if they sense high pressure is to not close, which kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it? That air has to go somewhere! The title of the article I linked is "Ecovent - Treating Symptoms Instead of the Disease". Based on what I know about these products I feel that is an accurate description of them. Even if they worked perfectly, without any potential for issues down the road, the problems they claim to be trying to solve should not be present at all in a properly sized, designed, and installed HVAC system. If temperatures are extremely uneven from room to room, that isn't just a fact of life that you have to deal with; it means that your duct system is poor. I have no zoning system whatsoever in my house, and my temperatures are almost perfectly even from room to room, even with just one thermostat. So, if you're having issues with comfort or energy consumption - get a good contractor to evaluate your entire system. You will be better off in the long run eliminating the root cause of these problems. All of this is just my personal opinion I've formed based on the information I've been able to find about these products online. If you decide you'd like to go ahead with one of these systems, post back with a review and let us know how it works for you.