Nine Reasons Your Home Isn’t Heating Evenly
Does your home heat unevenly? Heating unevenly occurs when some rooms feel nice and cozy while others are significantly colder. Several culprits could be to blame for this home comfort challenge. Here, we’ll explore what could be behind these temperature imbalances and provide tips on how you can solve the problem.
Something’s Blocking Your Home’s Vents
Your problem: Your furnace distributes heated air throughout your home via air and return registers. If these are obstructed or covered up, the restricted air circulation creates warm and cold areas in your home.
How to fix it: Confirm that all the vents are open, especially if some rooms feel like they aren’t getting enough warmth. Then, check to make sure there aren’t any furniture, carpets or blinds obstructing airflow. If a room is too hot, make sure the registers in the other rooms are open and feel like they are putting out about the same amount of air. If a register is open but not a lot of air is coming out, there may be a problem with a control mechanism or the duct isn’t forcing the air to the right place.
Your HVAC System Has a Dirty Air Filter
Your problem: Your furnace air filter traps dust, pollen and other airborne particles so that your air is clean. But a clogged filter filled with these particles can drastically lower airflow, making your heating system work harder and causing uneven heating. If warm air can’t get through easily, rooms farther from the system will be colder.
How to fix it: Check and replace the furnace’s air filter every 30-90 days, especially in the winter when your home’s heating system operates often.
Your Home Has Poor Insulation
Your problem: Inadequate home insulation lets warm air leak out, especially in rooms exposed to outside walls or the attic. This makes some rooms challenging to keep as warm as you’d like, even when the rest of the home seems comfortable.
How to fix it: Shore up your attic insulation to prevent heat from escaping from your home. If the material currently insulating your home is in good shape, you may be able to simply add more on top of it.
Drafty Doors and Windows Are Letting Cold Air In
Your problem: Single-pane windows and old, drafty doors are a common culprit for letting cold air inside, disrupting the indoor temperature. This problem is most often seen in older homes, which commonly have windows and doors that don’t fit as snug as they should.
How to fix it: Prevent drafts in and around doors and windows by installing insulation strips or caulk. Heavy-duty curtains and thermal blinds also help block out the cold. However, if these simple fixes aren’t enough to prevent cold spots in your home, you may want to think about replacing your windows and exterior doors.
You Have Leaky Ductwork
Your problem: Ductwork delivers heated air to your entire home. If there’s a hole, warmth can escape before it gets to some rooms of your home.
How to fix it: Hire an HVAC technician like one of our team members at Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing to inspect your ductwork for cracks, which can often be sealed with duct tape or mastic sealant. In more severe cases, you may need to replace the ducts.
You Need to Move Your Thermostat
Your problem: The thermostat manages the heating system throughout your home. If it’s in a cold or unusually sunny spot, it may give misleading readings, causing your HVAC system to run at the wrong times—and result in uneven temperatures.
How to fix it: If your thermostat is near a drafty window or heat-emitting appliance, it might be a good idea to find a new place for it. An HVAC professional from Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing can help you move it to a better place where it can more accurately measure your home’s average temperature. For extra convenience, choose a smart thermostat, which allows for remote temperature control and programmable heating schedules.
Your Furnace Is the Wrong Size
Your problem: A furnace that’s too small may struggle to heat all of your residence, making some areas colder than others. On the other hand, a furnace that’s too big often turns on and off continuously, leading to temperature fluctuations and increased wear and tear that can shorten the lifetime of your heating and air system.
How to fix it: Have a heating and cooling Expert assess your home’s furnace size compared to your home’s size, the climate where you live, the home’s insulation quality, windows and other factors. If your furnace is mismatched, you may opt for upgrading to the right size for better heating performance and energy efficiency.
Heating Challenges of Multilevel Homes
Your problem: Heat rises, which is why the second floor of your home is often heated while the main floor is cool.
How to fix it: Zoning your heating system allows you to control the temperature in different parts of your home with multiple thermostats and ductwork controls. This way, you can direct warm air exactly where you want.
It’s Time for Routine HVAC Maintenance
Your problem: Like any appliance, your furnace needs regular checkups to function smoothly. When you don’t provide routine care, your HVAC system may end up with issues that lower energy efficiency and prevent it from heating your home evenly.
How to fix it: Schedule professional maintenance for your furnace annually—if possible in the fall before the heating season starts. Regular maintenance also helps detect and fix issues before they become potentially expensive performance issues or total breakdowns.
Trust Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing for Furnace Services in the U.S.
No one likes to spend time in a chilly room. If you aren’t able to fix this yourself, count on Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing to get the job done correctly. Our ACE-certified technicians provide fast, dependable solutions to all your comfort needs backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Don’t let another cold spot ruin your comfort—call 866-397-3787 today to schedule the U.S. furnace services with the Experts at Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing.
