One room in your Marietta, GA home is the perfect temperature. But the next one is freezing cold. What gives? Even in Georgia, we have our fair share of wintery days. Uneven home heating disrupts your winter interior comfort; thankfully, several HVAC solutions exist to fix this pesky problem. We’re always happy to help, but here’s a run-down of what might be going on:
You Have Blocked Vents
People often accidentally block HVAC air flow with furniture and rugs. Then they can’t figure out why one room is so much colder during the winter. When one room (or part of a room) is too cold, look at your furniture placement. Have you covered or blocked a vent with a couch, chair, dresser, or curtain? The vents need a few feet of space to properly disperse the heated air throughout each room. Rearrange the furniture and see if it solves your problem.
Your Air Filters Are Dirty
Dirty air filters sometimes act like blocked vents. They get clogged with debris, which means the air can’t pass through as easily. Your furnace must work harder to push the air through, using up energy, and that air probably carries debris throughout your house from the dirty filter. Thankfully, you can fix this yourself. Buy a new air filter and exchange it with the old one. If you don’t know where to put the air filter or are confused about what kind to get, give us a call.
Your Rooms Are Drafty
Rooms are sometimes cold because of drafty windows and doors. Other times, the cold squeezes through the walls themselves thanks to bad insulation. Even pipes and electrical outlets may be letting in a little bit of cold air.
Find out if your home is drafty by performing a DIY draft test. Turn off your HVAC system and light a candle. Hold the candle up to your closed windows, electrical outlets, and spots where pipes meet walls. If the candle flame flutters, that means hot air is escaping and cold air is entering. You can deal with these spots yourself by installing weather stripping and using caulk or spackle. Unfortunately, insulation problems probably need a professional hand to fix.
Your HVAC System Is the Wrong Size
When your HVAC system is sized incorrectly, you’ll notice uneven heating or cooling, (or both). If the temperature differentiation seems to happen only in winter with your heating (i.e., your home is uniformly cool in the summer), then your furnace is probably the wrong size and your separate AC is fine.
Call us to find out if sizing is the problem. We’ll do a load calculation and get an accurate picture of what size furnace you need. We’ll then compare our findings with the furnace you have. You may need a new furnace if we discover that yours is either too large or too small, but that’ll fix your uneven heating problems. Plus, we can help you choose a new model that we’ll then install correctly.
Your Furnace Is Wearing Out
Your furnace might need maintenance. It might be nearing the end of its life. The only way to tell is to call us to come look. We’ll let you know if your furnace problems are repairable or if you’re going to need a new furnace soon. Buying a new furnace is a big purchase, so make sure you get yearly furnace maintenance to keep yours in top shape. You’re also more likely to have a fair warning before it wears out completely since we’ll be keeping an eye on it.
Uneven home heating is a pain, but it’s a fixable problem. Discover what you can about your heating system and your home yourself, or skip the DIY step and call us stat. You can reach E. Smith at 678-369-866. Our technicians will check out your system, your air filters, and your ducts to find out what the problem is. Staying comfortable during winter is important, and we’re here to help you get there.
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