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3 Ways to Encourage Even Home Heat
If you own a two-story home, then the top floor of your house may become warmer than the first floor during the winter months when using your home heating system. While this problem is not uncommon, it can be a nuisance.
Thankfully, you don't have to live with an unevenly heated home when you can try several solutions to this problem. Read on to learn three ways to encourage even home heat during the winter months when running your home heating system.
1. Leave Your Heating System Fan On
Most heating system thermostats have two settings: on and automatic . Like many homeowners, you may choose the automatic setting, which signals the fan to turn on only when the furnace is actively heating the home and then shut off when your home reaches your preferred temperature, to save energy.
To keep your home more evenly heated, try changing your furnace fan setting to the on position. This setting signals your furnace fan to run continuously, even after your home has reached the temperature your thermostat is set on. When your furnace blower constantly circulates the air in your home, the warm air that rises to the top floor of your home is redirected to other areas. This keeps the temperature throughout your home more consistent.
2. Have Duct Work Inspected for Leaks
Every forced-air home heating system has a system of ducts that transport warm air from the heating system to the air vents in the home. These ducts can develop leaks that allow warm air to escape before it enters a certain area of your home, leading to uneven home heating.
Leaks can develop in old ducts when the materials they are made from weaken and deteriorate over time. The sealant that attaches one duct section to another can also break down, and ducts can shift unnaturally as the foundation of your house settles, leading to duct cracks.
Aside from uneven home heating, signs that the air ducts in your home may leak include a sudden increase in your home heating bill and a house that suddenly seems dustier than usual. Leaky ducts can allow dust inside of your walls to enter the heating system where it is then blown into the rooms of your home.
To determine if leaky ducts are the cause of your unevenly heated home, have an HVAC expert examine them and then seal leaks.
3. Install a Zoned HVAC System
If your ductwork is in good condition and leaving your furnace fan on doesn't keep your home evenly heated, then you should consider replacing your current home heating system with a zoned HVAC system. A traditional HVAC system has just one thermostat that senses the temperature of the air in just one room and then signals the heating system to send warm air throughout the entire home when that room becomes cooler.
On the other hand, a zoned HVAC system has two or more thermostats placed in strategic areas of the home called climate zones. Each thermostat is adjusted to the desired temperature of the zone it is installed in and signals the heating system to send warm air to just that area of the home when needed. Zoned HVAC system ducts have special components called dampers that open and close as needed to allow just enough heated air to flow to each climate zone.
If the top floor of your home seems to stay warmer during the winter months when your heating system is running, then try one or more of these tips to encourage even home heat. Contact the HVAC experts at Bryant for duct inspection or zoned HVAC system installation today.