5 Reasons Why Your Home’s Heating Is Uneven & How To Fix It

Why Is There Uneven Heating Throughout My House?

We’ve all been there … in the freezing cold basement or the stiflingly hot spare bedroom. You’ve made sure the vents aren’t blocked, you’ve had your furnace checked for malfunctions, and you’ve ruled out problems with your home’s insulation. But no matter what you do, it seems impossible to get each room in your home the temperature you want.

Uneven heating is an annoying and often costly problem. Here are five causes, plus a practical solution:

Reasons Why Your Home’s Heating Is Uneven

Structure of Home

The way your home was built can be a major source of uneven heat. For example, south-facing rooms are naturally warmer than those with a northern or eastern exposure. Multi-level homes are notoriously hard to heat, let alone heat at a consistent temperature in every room. Higher floors are usually warmer because heat rises. And architectural features like vaulted ceilings or wall-to-wall windows present special issues for your heating and cooling system.

Dirty Furnace Filter

An air filter that’s allowed to clog up with dust and dirt may cause many furnace-related issues. The blockage will reduce airflow through your heating system, which often results in cold spots. You may even notice certain issues arising, like your furnace turning on and off.

Solve this problem yourself by changing the filter. How often should you change your furnace filter? Every 30-90 days.

Wrong Size HVAC System

The heating and cooling system you currently own might be the incorrect size. If it’s too small, there won’t be enough power to circulate warmed air evenly throughout your house. Talk to us about buying a new furnace in Toronto with a new, more energy-efficient model — and get our expert advice on the best furnace size to provide maximum home comfort for you and your family.

Old HVAC System

An aging HVAC system tends to lose efficiency. As a result, it could begin to heat unevenly. If your system is 10 or more years old, your most cost-effective move might be to replace vs. repair your furnace. Call in a Husky technician to troubleshoot and help you make the right decision.

Leaking Air Ducts

Leaky ductwork will result in wasted heat. Your warmed air will literally leak out as it travels through the ducts. By the time it gets to the farthest rooms, as much as 30 percent of its heat is lost. To correct this, schedule professional vent inspection and repair as part of your annual furnace maintenance.

How to Fix Uneven Heating at Home

Install a Zoning System

A correctly sized furnace paired with a zoning system is the perfect way to increase both your comfort level and energy efficiency. Zoning system installation lets you set different temperatures in different rooms, giving you more control over your heating.

How Do Zoning Systems Work?

Instead of one thermostat controlling your entire HVAC system, your house is divided into zones, depending on its size and number of floors.

Say your home is divided into three zones; you’ll have three thermostats installed, one for each zone. These thermostats control dampers installed in your ductwork. The dampers will open and close depending on the thermostat setting, letting in the precise amount of heat you want.

Rather than having your whole house set to one temperature, you can now select three different temperatures with three different pre-programmed heating and cooling schedules.

Benefits of Zoning Systems

Zoning systems are great for fixing your uneven heating. They’re also fantastic for increasing energy efficiency. When you only have one thermostat, you waste a lot of energy (and A LOT of money) heating rooms you aren’t using or rooms that are already too hot.

Natural Resources Canada reports that 95% of homeowners found zoning systems to effectively fix these issues. With proper programming of a zoned thermostat, you could save up to 25% on HVAC costs.