How to Zone a Forced-Air Furnace and Air Conditioner | Ask This Old House

Plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey shows how to divide a home s heating and air-conditioning system into different zones. (See steps below.) SUBSCRIBE to This Old House: http://bit.ly/SubscribeThisOldHouse Richard adds motorized zone dampers to a forced-air heating & cooling system. Steps for How to Zone a Forced-Air Furnace and Air Conditioner: 1. Cut into each flexible branch duct and install a motorized zone damper. Secure the damper to the duct with nylon cable ties. 2. Make the wire connections at each motorized damper and run all the wires back to the control panel at the furnace. 3. Remove the control panel s cover and plug in the telephone-jack connections for each zone. 4. To maintain the proper pressure within the system, install a weighted bypass damper between the supply trunk and return trunk. 5. Seal all the duct joints with mastic or foil-faced duct tape. 6. Adjust the weights on the bypass damper to ensure proper airflow to all registers. 7. Find a suitable spot in the house to install a wireless thermostat to control the new zones. To ensure accurate readings, place the thermostat away from direct sunlight and heating registers. Expert assistance with this project was provided by Northeast Heating and Cooling [https://www.northeasthc.com/]. The motorized zone dampers are manufactured by ZoneFirst [https://www.zonefirst.com/]. About Ask This Old House TV: Homeowners have a virtual truckload of questions for us on smaller projects, and we re ready to answer. Ask This Old House solves the steady stream of home improvement problems faced by our viewers—and we make house calls! Ask This Old House features some familiar faces from This Old House, including Kevin O Connor, general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, and landscape contractor Roger Cook. Looking for more step by step guidance on how to complete projects around the house? Join This Old House INSIDER to stream over 1,000 episodes commercial-free: https://bit.ly/2GPiYbH Plus, download our FREE app for full-episode streaming to your connected TV, phone or tablet: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/pages/streaming-app Follow This Old House and Ask This Old House: Facebook: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseFB Twitter: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseTwitter http://bit.ly/AskTOHTwitter Pinterest: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHousePinterest Instagram: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseIG http://bit.ly/AskTOHIG For more on This Old House and Ask This Old House, visit us at: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseWebsite How to Zone a Forced-Air Furnace and Air Conditioner | Ask This Old House https://www.youtube.com/user/thisoldhouse/