Hot and Cold Spots in Your House? Here’s 5 Reasons Why
When a residential HVAC system works perfectly, it heats and cools a home evenly throughout. That’s a difficult goal to achieve. However, many hot and cold spots in a house can happen as you move from one room to the next. There are plenty of reasons for this issue, but we will cover 5 of them in this article. By understanding what may be behind your struggles to create consistent conditions throughout your house, you can address the matter and make the place more comfortable for all who live inside.
To improve the way your HVAC system heats and cools your house so there are not hot and cold spots in your house, get in touch with Walker Air • Plumbing • Electric today. We’ll work with you to make a plan that addresses hot and cold spots in an efficient and effective manner.
#1 – Duct Problems
It’s the job of your duct work to carry warm and cool air throughout your house. If there are problems in the ducts – such as leaks – the air won’t get around as effectively and some parts of the home won’t heat or cool. When you notice that one particular room isn’t getting as warm or cool as you would like with hot and cold spots in that room in the house, visit that room while the HVAC system is running and put your hand near the vent. How much air is coming out? Does this vent seem to get as much airflow as others in the house? If not, it’s possible the duct that runs to that vent has damage, robbing you of airflow and hurting the performance of the system.
#2 – Improper Management of Vents
Speaking of vents, another potential issue comes up when you don’t have the dampers on your vents in the right positions. Most residential HVAC vents have dampers you can open or close to adjust how much air is flowing through that vent. It’s easy enough to forget you closed one of these vents. Make it a habit to periodically check in on the status of your vents – maybe each time you change your HVAC air filter – to make sure having the dampers in the wrong positions isn’t at the heart of this problem.
#3 – Undersized Equipment
You might struggle with HVAC performance in your house if the equipment you have in place is not powerful enough to take care of the whole house. When this is the case, it’s the spaces farthest from the HVAC system that will struggle to heat or cool. Of course, there isn’t an easy fix to this problem, as upgrading to the right size unit for your home may be the only solution. Work with a professional contractor like Walker Air • Plumbing • Electric to discuss your situation and whether an upgrade in equipment is necessary.
#4 – Insulation Issues
This next point actually has nothing to do with your HVAC equipment directly, but it can still lead to warm and cold spots throughout the home. If your house doesn’t have the proper insulation in place, the performance of your HVAC gear can’t be perfect. Lacking insulation makes it hard for your system to keep up, especially when it is particularly warm or cold outside. The good news here is improving your insulation is an affordable upgrade if there are only one or two parts of the house that need to be addressed.
#5 – Change That Filter!
Our last point comes back to one basic of maintaining an HVAC system in your home – changing the air filter regularly. Changing your filter allows your system to breathe fresh air, and plenty of it, while it runs. Trying to operate the system with a clogged-up filter will make it less efficient automatically. And, when the efficiency of the system dips, it might not get all the rooms warmed or cooled as you would like leading to hot and cold spots in a house. Since filters are affordable and easy to change, this is a point that should be easy to take care of quickly.
Don’t just accept hot and cold spots in your house when you can take steps to remedy the problem and get more comfortable throughout the year. The team at Walker Air • Plumbing • Electric is ready and waiting to help you with this issue, so reach out at your convenience to learn more about our services.
