Uneven Home Heating: Causes And Solutions

Many of us experience hot and cold spots in our home, whether they happen from room-to-room or from one section of the house to another. The question is, why do they happen – and what can you do about them?

Let’s take a look at some uneven heating causes and solutions.

Common Causes Of Uneven Home Heat

Uneven heat in your home is typically caused by one or more of four factors: poor airflow within your central heating system, insufficient insulation, improperly sized heating equipment, or air leaks and inefficiencies in your home. Digging a little deeper, more specific causes include:

• Insufficient airflow between the furnace and vents
• Leaky or poorly installed ductwork
• A mis-sized heating system
• Drafts around exterior windows and doors
• A broken or poorly-placed thermostat

Solutions For Hot And Cold Spots In The Home

It takes a little detective work to determine which of these causes is the root of the problem (a big reason why you should always hire a heating professional to assess home comfort problems!). If you’re experiencing hot and cold spots in your home, here are some possible solutions a pro might suggest, in order from the simplest to the most complex:

1. Close vents in under-used rooms – If you have a central heating system with vents, close them in unused rooms to redirect warm air to rooms you use most.
2. Check/change your air filter – In a forced air system, a blocked air filter will make it difficult for your blower to force air through your ductwork; inhibited air flow means less warm air reaches your living space. Try replacing your air filter before moving on to more substantial measures.
3. Bleed your radiators – If you have a boiler rather than a furnace, you could find that there are cold spots on your radiators and baseboards. This is often caused by trapped air pockets in the system’s pipes that are preventing heated water or steam from reaching the radiator. Your heating system probably needs to be bled (unless you have professional plumbing experience, leave this one to the professionals).
4. Winterize – Caulk leaky window and door frames, install doorsweeps, and add weatherstripping to door jambs to reduce drafts.
5. Get annual heating system service – The best way to fix a problem is to avoid having it in the first place. Don’t skip your annual tune-up – get professional heating maintenance every year, and let your heating expert know if your comfort is compromised!
6. Add space heaters – A high-efficiency propane space heater be a perfect solution to an uneven heating problem, especially if the cold spot is specific to one room or section of your house (think attic, garage, basement, hobby room, etc.). Compact and powerful, propane space heaters can add up to 30,000 Btus of safe, targeted heat to a room without needing to be connected to your central heating system or ductwork. Hocon features top-quality wall mounted and portable space heaters by industry leaders like Rinnai, Empire Comfort Systems, Modine, Mr. Heater, and L.B. White – contact us today to learn more.

Experiencing uneven heat in your home? Hocon pros can help. Contact us today to learn more about propane space heater installations in Connecticut!