Nine Reasons Your Home Isn’t Heating Evenly
Does your home heat unevenly? Heating unevenly is when some rooms feel warm while others are significantly chillier. Several culprits could be to blame for this heating problem. Here, we’ll explore what could be triggering these temperature imbalances and provide tips on how you can solve the issue.
Something’s Blocking Your Home’s Vents
Your problem: Your furnace moves heated air throughout your home via supply and return registers. If these are closed or covered up, the restricted airflow creates warm and cold areas in your home.
How to fix it: Ensure all your home’s vents are unblocked, especially if certain rooms feel like they aren’t getting enough warmth. Next, check to make sure there aren’t any furniture, carpets or curtains obstructing airflow. If a room is too warm, make sure the registers in the other rooms are clear and feel like they are putting out a similar amount of air. If a register is clear but not a lot of air is flowing from it, there may be a problem with a valve 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 to provide clean and healthy air in your home. But a blocked filter filled with these particles can severely restrict airflow, making your furnace work harder and causing uneven heating. If warm air can’t get through easily, rooms farther from the heat source can be colder.
How to fix it: Check and change the air filter every 30-90 days, especially in the winter when your home’s heating system operates often.
There’s Not Enough Insulation in Your Home
Your problem: Inadequate home insulation lets warm air leak out, especially in rooms nearest to outside walls or the attic. This makes certain rooms more difficult 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 keep heat from leaving 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.
Cold Air Is Getting in Through Doors and Windows
Your problem: Single-pane windows and old, leaky 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 fit as snug as they used to.
How to fix it: Prevent drafts in and around doors and windows with sealing tape or caulk. Heavy-duty curtains and thermal blinds also help prevent cold air from getting in your home. 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.
Duct Leaks Are Letting Warm Air Out
Your problem: Ductwork transports heated air to all the rooms in your home. If your ductwork has a hole, warm air 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 & Plumbing to inspect your ductwork for breaks, which can usually be sealed with metal tape or mastic sealant. In more severe cases, you may need duct replacement.
Your Thermostat Is in a Bad Spot
Your problem: The thermostat manages the heating system in your home. If it’s in a windy or unusually hot spot, it may give inaccurate readings, causing your HVAC system to run at the wrong times—and create uneven temperatures.
How to fix it: If your thermostat is near a drafty window or heat-emitting appliance, think about relocating it. An HVAC specialist from Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing can help you move it to a better place where it can more accurately gauge your home’s average temperature. For extra convenience, opt for a smart thermostat, which gives you remote temperature control and personalized heating schedules.
You Need a Different Size of Furnace
Your problem: A furnace that’s too small may not heat all of your home, leaving some areas colder than others. On the other end of the spectrum, an oversized furnace often runs frequently, leading to temperature fluctuations and excessive wear and tear that can shorten the lifetime of your heating and cooling system.
How to fix it: Have a heating and cooling specialist evaluate 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 quality, windows and other factors. If your furnace is mismatched, think about 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 can be warm while the main floor is colder.
How to fix it: Zoning your heating system allows you to control the temperature in different rooms with separate thermostats and ductwork dampers. This way, you can redirect warm air where you need it.
Your Furnace Needs a Tune-Up From a Pro
Your problem: Like any machine, your furnace needs regular checkups to function smoothly. Without routine care, your HVAC system may end up with issues that reduce efficiency and prevent it from heating your home evenly.
How to fix it: Schedule professional maintenance for your heating system 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 catastrophic breakdowns.
Trust Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing for Furnace Services in the U.S.
No one likes spending time in a chilly room. If an easy fix doesn’t do the trick, count on Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing to get the job done right. Our ACE-certified technicians provide fast, dependable solutions to all your comfort needs backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Don’t let an uncomfortably chilly room get you down—call 866-397-3787 today to schedule the U.S. furnace services with the Experts at Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing.
