Are Some Rooms In Your House Cooler Than Others?
Are the vents in your home providing warm air adequately from floor to floor, or room to room? Is the temperature uniform throughout your home?
If not, you might be experiencing a common problem found in multi-level homes, especially if your furnace is located in the basement. The pressurized air that your system pushes out will take the path of least resistance, which is usually out of the registers closest to the furnace.
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This shouldn’t be happening. If your home’s duct system is designed properly, the ducts going to the rooms closest to the furnace are made smaller to allow more air to reach rooms further away from the furnace. If the duct system is not designed right, then chances are heat is being distributed unevenly throughout the home, with some rooms ending up hotter and others cooler.
Where is your thermostat located? If it’s on the first floor, then it may be operating the furnace without taking into account the upstairs temperature. If you feel poor airflow coming out of the registers on the top floor, then it could be a duct size/air balance issue.
A qualified HVAC contractor can look over your duct system and give advice on changes to improve airflow to the upper floors. There might even be room to add a supply duct to channel more air to the top floor.
“Zoning” is another option – this option allows you to take a room by room approach to heating your home. A house is divided into zones, and you control exactly which ones get more of less heat. This means only those zones used are heated. For most people, that would be the living room and family room during the day and the bedrooms at night.
A qualified HVAC contractor can explain exactly how you can improve heat distribution throughout your home. To find a qualified contractor, visit the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI) Contractor Locator page or call 1-877-467-4724. All HRAI member contractors have been pre-screened and have the required trade licences, technical certifications and insurance coverage to work on your system.
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