According to the US Department of Energy, your thermostat should be set at 68 degrees Fahrenheit during the winter season. Doing so allows you to be energy efficient while avoiding problems like hypothermia and frozen pipes. Your heating unit should generate even temperatures throughout your house. If you have uneven heating in house, it could be due to several reasons.
Unfortunately, this can lead to discomfort, and you might find yourself setting your thermostat on higher temperatures to make up for it. This will result in high heating bills. Therefore, you must find out the cause behind your rooms’ heating unevenly.
This article discusses eight reasons for this problem.
A furnace that is too small will overwork itself to keep your home warm. This causes unnecessary stress to your system. Not only that, but your home will still feel uncomfortable. The same goes for when you have a furnace that is too large. It will end up short cycling or when your system turns on and off in quick successions. This issue can cause premature breakdowns.
Therefore, you must have the right-sized furnace. This way, you can be sure that the unit can heat your home evenly, improve comfort, and reduce your home heating bills. Many factors are included in determining the right size furnace for your home. These include your home’s structure, how many rooms there are, and what materials your house is made of. A professional HVAC contractor will conduct a Manual J Load Calculation to pinpoint the furnace size that best fits your home.
Furnace maintenance is vital in ensuring that your system remains highly efficient for a long time. Without regular tune-ups, your system’s efficiency will drastically drop. As a result, you will have uneven heating throughout the house. Routine maintenance includes a thorough check of all furnace components to determine and resolve all issues immediately. Make sure to hire a professional HVAC technician at least once a year. The ideal time to schedule a tune-up is during early fall when the weather is still mild, and there are shorter waiting queues.
Any opening, no matter how small, allows cold air inside your house. This results in uneven temperatures, especially during the colder months. Therefore, remember to keep all windows and doors closed. Check around your home if there are other gaps, holes, and cracks around your house. These can be sealed using various methods, including weather strips, foam tape, caulk, and door snake. Having a properly sealed home means that there are no air leaks and no uneven heating.
Heat naturally rises. As a result, the upstairs space is warmer than the first floor. The rooms in the lower level in your multi-story house need more heat than those in the upper level. You might only have one thermostat for your whole house. To combat uneven heating, you might want to install a zoning system in your home. This way, each zone has a thermostat that will allow specific heating depending on the occupants’ needs.
Furnace filters trap all dirt, dust, and debris so that they are not circulated in your home. Over time, the filters will have a debris buildup that can obstruct proper airflow. When the airflow slows down, far away rooms do not receive the required heating. Ensure that your furnace filters are cleaned or replaced periodically. Check them at least once a month and do the necessary actions to prevent clogged filters.
Vents should be unobstructed at all times to allow sufficient warm air into your house. If these are closed or blocked, you can expect uneven heating around your home. Not only that, but the pressure can also build up in the ventilation system and cause premature breakdown. Go around your house to ensure all vents are unobstructed.
Warm air is delivered to rooms via the air ducts. It ensures that even rooms that are far from the furnace receive enough heating. However, if the HVAC ducts have holes or gaps, the warm air will leak through instead. The openings might be caused by rodents chewing through the duct, old age, or poor installation, to name a few. Have any damages on your HVAC ducts fixed by a professional immediately.
Check the furnace fan setting in your thermostat. If it is in “auto,” the air will only be distributed when the furnace is heating the house and will stop when the heating cycle stops. This repeated start and stop might cause warm air to be distributed unevenly. It will also result in a worn-out fan. To avoid this problem, set the fan to “on” so that air will continue to flow. However, doing so will also crank up your energy bills. You can opt to install a ceiling fan instead and have it run in the lowest setting in a clockwise direction to be more energy-efficient.
Some of the primary reasons for uneven heating around your house are listed above. For hassle-free home heating, contact your local trusted technician to help you find the cause of uneven heating in your house. They can recommend practical and affordable solutions so you can enjoy lounging around your home on cold days. An HVAC expert can also give you a few maintenance guidelines for your vents so that uneven heating does not occur again.
Tower Energy provides excellent HVAC services in Hartford County, Connecticut. Our company has highly-trained and professionally certified technicians, and they can conduct top-notch heating and cooling services. Our techs are knowledgeable and experienced in conducting HVAC maintenance, repairs, installations, and replacements correctly and promptly.
Rest assured that Tower Energy has the most competitive heating and cooling service costs in the area. Our tune-ups guarantee to improve your comfort, energy efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. If you need an HVAC system replacement, we can recommend the best replacement system for your home while staying within your budget. All our work comes with a guarantee. Book your service appointment and call Tower Energy today. We provide free, in-home estimates.
Contact us now or call us at (860) 677-7347 to find out more.