Nine Reasons Your Home Isn’t Heating Evenly
Does your home heat unevenly? Heating unevenly happens when some rooms feel warm while others are significantly chillier. Several reasons could be to blame for this heating challenge. Here, we’ll explore what could be triggering these temperature imbalances and show you how to resolve the problem.
Air Vents Aren’t Open
Your problem: Your furnace moves warm air throughout your home via air and return registers. If these are closed or covered up, the restricted air movement creates warm and cold zones in your home.
How to fix it: Ensure all the vents are clear of obstructions, especially if certain rooms feel like they aren’t getting enough heat. Next, check to make sure there aren’t any furnishings, carpets or blinds hindering airflow. If a room is too warm, make sure the registers in the other rooms are uncovered and feel like they are putting out a similar 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 routing the air to the right place.
Your HVAC System Has a Dirty Air Filter
Your problem: Your furnace air filter collects and removes dust, pollen and other airborne particles to keep your air clean. However, a blocked filter filled with these particles can drastically lower airflow, making your furnace work harder and causing uneven heating. If warm air can’t get through easily, rooms farther from the system feel colder.
How to fix it: Look over and replace the furnace’s air filter every 30-90 days, especially in the winter when the heating system works overtime.
There’s Not Enough Insulation in Your Home
Your problem: Inadequate home insulation allows heat to leak out, especially in rooms nearest to outside walls or your attic. This makes some rooms harder to heat, even when the rest of the home is nice and comfortable.
How to fix it: Update your attic insulation to prevent heat from rising out of your home. If the insulation in your home now 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 often to blame for letting cold air inside, disrupting the indoor temperature. This problem is most often seen in older homes, which frequently have windows and doors that don’t close as snug as they used to.
How to fix it: Avoid drafts in and around doors and windows by installing weatherstripping or caulk. Thermal curtains and thermal blinds also help block out the cold. When 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.
There’s a Leak in Your Air Ducts
Your problem: Ductwork carries heated air to your entire home. If your ductwork has a crack, warmth can leak out before it gets to some rooms of your home.
How to fix it: Hire an HVAC professional like one of our team members at Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning to inspect your ductwork for cracks, which can usually be sealed with duct tape or mastic sealant. In more severe cases, you may need duct replacement.
You Need to Move Your Thermostat
Your problem: The thermostat manages the heating system in your home. If it’s in a cold or unusually hot spot, it may give distorted 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 windy window or heat-generating appliance, you may want to move it to another area of your home. An HVAC specialist from Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning can help you move it to a more central location where it can more accurately read your home’s average temperature. For extra convenience, consider a smart thermostat, which allows for remote temperature control and programmable heating schedules.
You Need a Different Size of Furnace
Your problem: A furnace that’s too small may have difficulty heating all of your home, making some rooms colder than others. On the other hand, a furnace that’s too big often turns on and off continuously, causing temperature fluctuations and increased wear and tear that can shorten the lifetime of your HVAC system.
How to fix it: Have a heating and cooling specialist assess the size and capacity of the furnace in your home compared to your home’s size, the climate where you live, the home’s insulation levels, 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.
Heat Only Reaches Some Floors of Your Home
Your problem: Heat rises, which is why the second floor of your home is often warm while the main floor is colder.
How to fix it: Zoning your heating system is a way for you to control the temperature in different parts of your home with separate thermostats and ductwork dampers. This way, you can direct warm air where you want.
Your Furnace Needs a Tune-Up From a Pro
Your problem: Like any machine, your furnace needs regular checkups to operate smoothly. Without routine care, your HVAC system may develop issues that lower energy efficiency and prevent it from heating your home evenly.
How to fix it: Schedule professional maintenance for your furnace annually—preferably in the fall before the heating season starts. Regular maintenance also helps spot and fix issues before they result in potentially expensive performance issues or total breakdowns.
Trust Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning for Furnace Services in Calgary
No one likes to be in a cold room. If an easy fix doesn’t do the trick, count on Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning to get the job done correctly. Our certified technicians provide fast, dependable solutions to all your comfort needs backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Don’t let a stubbornly cold room ruin your comfort—call 403-279-5760 today to schedule Calgary furnace services with the Experts at Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning.