converting 2-zone to 3-zone heating

Big Ed

NeeLa ,

Yes it can......... You may have many options.Depends on the system and lay out of the home.

neela

I have 2-zone heating in my house. One controls the top floor and the other controls first floor and basement. I would like to have separate zone for the basement so I can control the heating better. Can this be done? If so, what are my options?

thanks in advance,
neela

Empire_2

You want a 3rd zone

which means that you have to seperate the 1st floor pipping from the basement section and add a zone valve or pump depending on how your system is set up. Any professional will be able to help you do this...

neela

Thanks for everyones' response so far. The reason for my posting is that I got contradictory opinions from two professionals. One person said that he'd be able to do it by putting dampers and separate the supply. This person wanted 3500 to do the job. A second contractor said that this cannot be done, and told us to get a separate heating system, installed for the basement (like electrical heating either in t he walls or the flooring). We have a forced air system with a gas furnace. Part of the basement is finished. The system is 10years old, together with the house.

Weezbo

Neela, the first of the two may be correct in his thoughts...

as might the second thats why second opinions are a good thing :)i would like to say that for the added value of more comfortable heating system sometimes the structural systems of a home need to be drastically altered to achieve it. The one benifit of wet heat is that we can heat with pipe of much less diameter and often without having to rearrange the structure ...It may be possible with the type of heat that you have ,to pipe a seperate supply and return and "zone" back to the plenum...it would depend on what is the size of pipe needed to do so and the distance away from the source of heat and the obstacles from point a to point b ...and what the overall effect of placing these pipes would do to the entire system in general..

clammy

capacity

I,ve seen guys add zoning to hot air systems with no cocern to the fact the original equipment is unable to satisfy the added zones or the original zones .I've installed zoned hot air with a/c systems in the past for places i have worked and all for all i didn't like them there always seemed to be some compromse wheather in the capacity under heavy loads or air flow promblems when all zones called but as technology advances i would gather lastest tech and modulting fans would correct these promblems that used to exist .Any one remenber doing dump zones and baromitic bypass relief .I would make sure the guy who is doing it knows what he doing and get it in writing .Peace and the best of luck clammy