Have you noticed that certain parts of your home feel unusually hot or cold? Having spots with uneven temperatures can make it hard to feel comfortable, and they might also be a sign that something is wrong with your HVAC system. Here are some common techniques that help to solve this problem.
Improve Your Home’s Insulation
In some cases, the strangely hot or cold area you feel in your house is from outside air leaking in. Especially if the uneven heating is near a door or window, you might need to work on your insulation. Even simple measures like installing weatherstripping can do a lot to make your home feel more comfortable.
Run Your Ceiling Fans More Often
Though running ceiling fans isn’t a permanent solution, it can make your home feel more comfortable until you get an expert to take a look at your HVAC system. By improving airflow in a room, you can encourage air to mix more evenly and prevent hot or cold spots from developing.
Replace Your HVAC Filters
As your filters pull debris out of the air, they gradually become clogged. This results in slightly reduced airflow to your air handler. If you replace your filters regularly, the slight reduction in airflow isn’t enough to become a problem. However, if you neglect this essential home maintenance task, you can end up with such poor airflow that your HVAC cannot circulate air properly. When this happens, you’ll notice hot or cold spots around vents while the rest of the home takes forever to heat up or cool down.
Make Sure Your HVAC System Is the Right Size
If you have uneven heating and also notice your HVAC system constantly turning off or constantly running, you probably have an improperly sized system. When an HVAC system is too large, it forcefully dumps a lot of treated air into your space in a short amount of time. This tricks the thermostat into thinking the temperature is fixed, so it shuts off your system before it runs for long enough to thoroughly mix your air. Meanwhile, if the system is too large, it will run nonstop but never be able to reach certain corners of the house. An HVAC professional can suggest some changes that help, but in some situations, it might even require a new HVAC system.
Clean and Maintain Your Ducts and Vents
If there are parts of your house that never seem to get treated air no matter how often you run your system, it might be a sign there is a problem with your ducts or vents. Things like debris clogging a duct, leaks in a duct, or crushed vent blades can make it hard for air to flow. In these cases, you’ll notice that turning on your HVAC system doesn’t seem to change the temperature in the room, and you might not feel any air when you place your hand in front of the vent. These issues will require you to get your system examined and repair or clean certain parts of your HVAC system.
Rearrange Your Ductwork
If your ductwork is poorly designed, it might contribute to uneven heating and cooling. Issues like not having enough vents in the house can end up resulting in an HVAC system that overheats and overcools some spots without the ability to reach other spots. This problem is often easily solved with some small changes to your ductwork. Your HVAC professional might also suggest adding more supply or return vents throughout your house. This helps to improve circulation, so all your air gets evenly mixed instead of clumping in hot and cold spots.
Consider Installing a Zoned System
Sometimes hot and cold spots are caused by the design of your house. If you have an upstairs that all your heat rises into or a downstairs that’s always chilly, it might be time for a zoned system. These range from retrofits that control airflow with dampers to new mini-split systems that place additional air handlers in your home. Whatever style you pick, they can be a very effective way of fine-tuning your temperatures to suit each part of the home.
If you’re dealing with uneven heating and cooling, Eagles HVAC Services can help. Our experts have plenty of experience finding and fixing hot or cold spots. We also assist Fairfax residents with a variety of other HVAC repairs, maintenance, and installations. Contact us today to schedule your service visit.
