A popular project for new construction in Malibu, CA is the room addition. If your property has the space, you can add on a new room that will help expand the ways you use your house: adding a new bedroom for a growing family, putting in a special game room or entertainment area, creating a sunroom, or putting in a dedicated office or other work-from-home space.

No matter what type of room addition you’re investigating, there’s an important consideration to plan for: how to heat and cool the new space.

The tricky part of comfort for a room addition

You might think that providing the appropriate air conditioning and heating for a room addition is straightforward. You simply expand out the ductwork of your current HVAC system to reach the new space. In fact, it might be this simple: if your AC and heating system are powerful enough, they might be able to handle the inclusion of the new space with basic ductwork extensions. Our remodeling experts can easily take care of the job of putting in new ductwork for the room as part of the project.

However, a home’s HVAC system is usually installed to provide just enough heating and cooling capacity to the existing rooms. A more powerful HVAC system can easily turn into an energy-waster, so installers carefully match the heating and air conditioner’s capacity to meet the space requirements. Adding a new room and then connecting it to the current system may end up harming comfort throughout the house and placing too much strain on the HVAC system.

Some options for the addition

When you work with our expert team for your room addition, we’ll be able to tell you if your HVAC system has the capability to provide comfort to the new space. The room may not have extensive comfort requirements depending on where it’s located and what it’s used for, and in these cases you may not need much more than quality insulation and proper window facing.

The mild winter weather of Southern California makes it easier to keep new spaces warm; cooling is often the bigger matter. We often recommend installing ceiling fans for new spaces to help with comfort during summer, as well as putting in an adequate number of windows that can be opened to the outside.

If the room addition needs more powerful air conditioning and heating, there are some other choices. Window ACs are an inexpensive option, but many people dislike how they look and don’t want to block up any of their new windows. We often recommend our customers use a ductless mini split, which sends cooled/heated air into a room through a wall-hanging unit. The only other installation required is an outdoor unit that connects to the wall unit. This allows for powerful heating and cooling unconnected to the rest of the HVAC system.

Our team will help see that whatever room addition you plan on will have the exact level of comfort necessary for you to get the most use from it. 

Advanced Builders & Contractors is licensed and bonded and has served the Los Angeles Area for more than 16 years. Request an estimate today and experience our exceptional customer service.