Nine Reasons Your Home Isn’t Heating Evenly

Are some rooms in your home colder than others? Heating unevenly occurs when some rooms feel nice and cozy while others are noticeably cooler. Several causes could be to blame for this temperature challenge. Here, we’ll help you learn what could be triggering these temperature imbalances and provide tips on how you can resolve the problem.

Something’s Blocking Your Home’s Vents

Your problem: Your furnace moves heated air throughout your home via air and return registers. If these are blocked or covered up, the restricted air movement creates hot and cold zones in your home.

How to fix it: Ensure all your home’s vents are unblocked, especially if some rooms feel like they aren’t getting enough heat. Then, check to make sure there aren’t any furnishings, mats or drapes blocking airflow. If a room is too hot, make sure the registers in the other rooms are uncovered and feel like they are putting out the same amount of air. If a register is open but not a lot of air is flowing from it, there may be a problem with a control mechanism or the duct isn’t routing the air to the right place.

Your HVAC System Has a Dirty Air Filter

Your problem: Your furnace air filter catches dust, pollen and other airborne particles to provide clean and healthy air in your home. But a blocked filter filled with these particles can drastically lower airflow, making your furnace work harder and causing uneven heating. If warm air can’t get through easily, rooms farther from the heat source will be colder.

How to fix it: Inspect and change the air filter every 30-90 days, especially in the winter when your heating system works overtime.

There’s Not Enough Insulation in Your Home

Your problem: Inadequate home insulation lets warm air leak out, especially from rooms nearest to outside walls or the attic. This makes these rooms more difficult to keep as warm as you’d like, even when the rest of the home is nice and comfortable.

How to fix it: Shore up your attic insulation to prevent heat from leaving your home. If the insulation in your home now is in good shape, you may be able to simply add more on top of it.

Drafty Doors and Windows Are Letting Cold Air In

Your problem: Single-pane windows and old, thin doors are notorious for letting cold air into your home, 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 should.

How to fix it: Stop drafts in and around doors and windows with sealing tape or caulk. Thermal curtains and thermal blinds also help keep cold air out of your home. When these simple fixes aren’t enough to prevent cold spots in your home, consider replacing your windows and exterior doors.

You Have Leaky Ductwork

Your problem: Ductwork transports heated air throughout your home. If there’s a crack, warm air can leak out before it gets to some rooms of your home.

How to fix it: Hire an HVAC specialist like one of our team members at Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing to inspect your ductwork for cracks, which can usually be sealed with duct tape or mastic sealant. In more severe cases, you may need to replace the ducts.

Your Thermostat Is in a Bad Spot

Your problem: The thermostat controls the heating system in your home. If it’s in a cold or unusually warm spot, it may give inaccurate readings, causing your HVAC system to run at the wrong times—and result in uneven temperatures.

How to fix it: If your thermostat is near a windy window or heat-emitting appliance, it might be a good idea to find a new place for it. An HVAC professional from Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing can help you move it to an area more representative of your home’s actual temperature where it can more accurately read your home’s average temperature. For extra convenience, opt for a smart thermostat, which allows for remote temperature control and programmable heating schedules.

Your Furnace Is the Wrong Size

Your problem: A furnace that’s too small may struggle to heat all of your residence, making some areas colder than others. On the other end of the spectrum, a furnace that’s too big often runs frequently, causing temperature fluctuations and increased wear and tear that can shorten the lifetime of your heating and cooling system.

How to fix it: Have a heating and cooling professional assess the size and capacity of the furnace in your home compared to your home’s square footage, the climate where you live, the home’s R-value, windows and other factors. If your furnace is oversized or underpowered, consider 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 cool.

How to fix it: Zoning your heating system allows you to control the temperature in different areas using multiple thermostats and ductwork dampers. This way, you can send warm air where you need it.

You Need to Schedule Regular HVAC Maintenance

Your problem: Like any system with moving parts, your furnace needs regular tune-ups to operate smoothly. Without routine care, your HVAC system may end up with issues that reduce efficiency and hinder it from heating your home evenly.

How to fix it: Schedule professional maintenance for your heating system annually—ideally in the fall before the heating season kicks off. Regular maintenance also helps identify and fix problems before they grow into potentially expensive performance issues or total breakdowns.

Schedule Furnace Services in the U.S. Today with Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing

No one likes to be in a ice-cold room. If one of these simple fixes doesn’t solve the issue, count on Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing to get the job done properly. Our ACE-certified technicians provide efficient, dependable solutions to all your comfort needs backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Don’t let a stubbornly cold 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.