I'm doing a major remodel (gutting the house) and will be replacing the HVAC systems including ducts. The iQDrive seems like it would handle a wide range of zone sizes well. But, does anyone have any actual experience (or at least a genuinely knowledgeable opinion about) zoning with this system?

I would like to zone down to very small zones, preferably single rooms (house is a well insulated 5,300sf total with individual rooms ranging from approx 200sf/9' ceiling to 850sf/14' ceiling - I know that is skimpy info but it gives the basic situation).

How intelligent is the system? When a small room calls for cooling does the air handle and compressor "know" - and adjust for the fact - that this room needs less air flow & compressor energy than when a very large room calls for cooling?

I was thinking I might need two 4 ton units to service the whole house. But, since the system can only drop down to 25%(right?) of maximum rating, a 4 ton unit would probably be oversized when serving a single small room zone. Can the system dump air into some of the rest of the house to improve efficiency and reduce short cycling? Does it look at the conditions in each room and use that info along with it's knowledge of room sizes, etc. to recognize which other zones would make good dumps to minimize over-conditioning of the spaces not calling? Does it use modulating dampers to make this process more controllable?

Speaking of modulating dampers, are they used - perhaps along with varying blower speed - to make transitions in zone demands without causing abrupt changes in air flow as rooms call for conditioning and are satisfied? If not, how does the system minimize air noise from this process?

Can you undersize the whole house tonnage and still have good temperature & humidity control by having the system condition individual zones sequentially rather than simultaneously?

Can a thermostat (or other controller) control more than one zone using remote temp sensors or does each zone need a separate thermostat for control?

Thanks in advance for your help.