Is Your Home Not Warm Enough?

The winter months can be challenging for a variety of reasons. As the days grow both colder and shorter families spend more time inside their homes. This is a time when the efficient and effective heating of your home is most important.

To heat your home effectively there are two aspects that are important. How effective the furnace is at producing and distributing heat and how well your home holds the heat. There are a variety of reasons why different rooms in your house may be at different temperatures. You may find that certain rooms are warmer or colder than other rooms. This uneven heating may be due to an aging or undersized HVAC system, leaky ductwork, clogged air filter, drafts or poor home design. 

Most furnaces are built to last 15-20 years. A furnace that may be reaching the end of its life span could have the heat output decrease. This decrease will cause rooms close to the furnace to heat adequately and the rooms that are further away not to receive much heat at all. If this is the case it may be time to upgrade to a new system. 

Heating systems can also suffer from short cycling. Short cycling is when the furnace kicks on and turns off before it has completed the full heating cycle. The constant on and off

motion makes it hard for the furnace to generate enough heat to travel throughout all of the rooms. This type of cycling can be caused by a variety of internal issues in the furnace. If this is an issue, calling for a HVAC technician would be the most efficient way to deal with the problem. 

The temperature may be uneven in the home if the furnace is undersized for the demands of the space. This problem can be calculated by determining what BTU heating capacity is needed for the home. To do this you would calculate the total square footage of the home and multiply it by 30. This number is the minimum number of BTUs that your heating system will need. If your heating system is not meeting the minimum of BTU’s needed to heat your home then an upgrade will be needed. 

The way air flows from the furnace and in the house can also be an issue. Problems may occur with leaky ductwork. Forced air heating systems run throughout the walls and floors of the house. This ductwork is made out of metal which expands and contracts over time due to the changing temperature. This can create gaps in segments of the ductwork. As the warm air travels from the furnace through the ducts some of the heat will leak out through these gaps. This will reduce the amount of heat that is traveling the length of the ductwork and reduce the amount of heat in the furthest rooms. This problem can be addressed by having the ductwork sealed. 

An easier fix for heating your home may be to switch out the air filter. The furnace may have to work harder if the air filter needs to be changed. Clogged air filters are a common reason for uneven heating in the home. When the air filter is clogged the furnace has to work harder to force the air through the dirty filter. This will cause less warm air to make it throughout the rooms of your home. This problem has an easy fix of replacing the existing air filter. When the air filter is replaced each room should go back to the proper temperature. 

The way the warm air moves into a room may also affect how the room is heated. When heating vents are closed or obstructed this can cause uneven heating. It is easy to unintentionally place a piece of furniture in front of an air vent. This will restrict the air flow into the room, thereby making it harder to heat. Simply moving the furniture or obstruction out of the way of the heating vent may solve this problem. 

Air drafts around windows and doors create uneven heating issues as well. These drafts have nothing to do with the heating system. When you notice a draft in a room, locate it and cover the area with insulation or weather stripping. This will help to bring the room back up to temperature. Air drafts and poor insulation make it harder for the heating system to hold a room at a constant temperature. 

Heating can also be affected by poor home design. A home that is designed without the concept of efficient heating has features like wall to wall windows and vaulted ceilings. An HVAC professional may be able to help offset these heating design flaws. 

The furnace is your friend and needs professional maintenance performed every year. If you skip these annual services, the system may work less effectively. This means producing less heat, which may leave distant rooms receiving less heat. The team at Cerrone Plumbing Heating & Air Conditioning is a resource to consider when looking to troubleshoot your heating issues. With over 25 years of experience, Cerrone is a long-standing and successful company and a part of the community. We can service the furnace and troubleshoot any potential issues, and are happy to help with any of these heating problems. You can trust us to help improve the comfort of your home throughout the winter months.