Why are some rooms in my house colder than others?

Question

Our home is only 12 years old and I have noticed that a few of the bedrooms are cold and drafty while others are not. In the summer, the same rooms that are cold in winter, are hotter than others even with the air conditioner on. What is the problem and how can I fix it?

Answer 1

There can be many answers to this question. The most common are:
The farther away fom the furnace the rooms are the cooler they will be in the winter and opposite in summer. The rooms with outside walls will be cooler and first floor rooms that dont have a basement under them will be cooler. Lastly you may have heat ducts that arn't fully open somewhere.

Answer 2

I am getting a pretty good clue from your question when you say the same rooms are hotter in the summer. Sounds like a definete insulation problem in certain rooms or just not sealing around the windows and electrical outlets when it was built. One little test you can use,,,very simple, but it will tell you what you need to know. Light an incense stick ( or cigarette, if you smoke) now that it is winter and hold it around the edges of the windows and outlet covers in those rooms. Actually, you should do this through the entire house, especially in the basement by the soleplates. Watch the smoke. It is blows away from the wall, you have poor or no insulation in those areas. If the smoke is actually sucked into the outlets or behind the trim molding, you have some cavities that are unsealed. If this exists, CAREFULLY pull up the molding and/or remove the outlet covers. There is a neat product out called STUFF in a can. It is an expanding foam. You can use this on the windows or small leaks,,,not on electrical outlets. You need a different type for that,,,,but ask at Home Depot or Loews,,,they can direct you. Use Stuff sparingly,,,,it will expand almost immediately. If it blows up outside the area where the trim goes back, let it harden and trim it off with a utility knife. Put the trim back in place. That will help 90% or better of your problem. It will also help reduce your heating bills in the winter plus your cooling bills in the summer.

Answer 3

Some Rooms Colder Than Others

Answer 4

It has to do with the location of your thermostst stat and air return.

The rooms that are farther away from the the air return and the thermostat are always a different temp. To help the air distribution of the air return leave all the room doors open so the air can be pulled out to the air return grill and recycled through the unit.

Answer 5

So how do you comprehend it may value too lots to get the vent open? Its an extremely common technique. Get your tail up interior the attic good now and make confident the vent duct artwork isn't overwhelmed, ripped or leaking, and is related to the heater plenum. What, is a roll of high quality duct tape value too lots for you? a chew of alternative flex duct you may as nicely be waiting to locate interior the junk pile of a shape web site . There additionally could be a damper concern sounds opt to me there is an excuse for each little thing......take some duty

Answer 6

It sounds like an improperly balanced system. There should be dampers to control the amount of air to each room. A properly designed system will have virtually no tenperature difference from room to room. For more info, check out the ducts page at my source. Usually you can make modifications to the system to fix it and you may be able to do it yourself.

Answer 7

I think it is a ducting/ventilation problem. When doors to rooms are closed, the airflow is affected. I had a mobile home that had registers (always open and not connected to the ductwork) over all the bedroom doors. When I asked why, I was told that it assisted with the airflow when the doors were closed.

Answer 8

All of the above answers suggest possible answers,another is to have a flow pattern study accomplished by a competent heating/air conditioning company. They will be able to find out if you have a plugged duct,bad insulation etc. Good luck to you

Answer 9

It sounds like these rooms are not insulated properly. Are they over a garage as well? If they are, the floors are probably not insulated as well.

Answer 10

The above... also check your thermostat locations,they may not be accurately representing those rooms.