When you turned on your central air this summer and found that it worked well downstairs, but felt like your own personal sauna upstairs, you probably recognized that something wasn’t right with your A/C.
Below, we touch on five ways to troubleshoot air circulation for uneven home cooling.
1. Get Your Ductwork Checked for Air Leaks
If your HVAC system has malfunctioning ducts, then the cool air intended for whole-house circulation will leak out as it circulates in the home. Any,, leaks or holes in your ductwork will cause the air conditioning to work that much harder for less output. You or a professional can check your ducts to see if leaks, tears, holes, or gaps are responsible for your uneven home cooling.
2. Switch Your Thermostat Fan Setting from “Auto” to “On”
Check out your thermostat. Even on older systems, you can usually move the fan switch between “auto” and “on.” If you have uneven home cooling, consider toggling the switch to the “on” setting instead of the “auto” position. When in the “auto” position, the fan only kicks on when there is a call for active cooling of the home – and your outside air conditioning unit is running. When in the “on” position, the fan stays on to circulate your cooled air, even after the A/C cycles off. This way, the fan continues to push air between the first and second floors, helping to evenly distribute home cooling. Running the fan should only add on a little bit of electricity cost, depending on the type of furnace blower you have equipped.
3. Check Your Vents
Are your vents blocked or dirty? It’s important to regularly inspect them to check for obstructions. Your living space may be experiencing uneven home cooling if the vents are blocked by furniture or accumulated dust or debris buildup. Rearrange your furniture or retrieve those missing dog toys to give your vents the best clearance possible. You can also remove the registers and use a vacuum attachment to clean dirt or dust.
4. Add Additional Insulation to Your Attic
Attic insulation serves two main purposes in the summer months especially: to keep the cooler air in and warmer air out. If you don’t have the right amount or the right quality of insulation, you may notice the top floor of your home is hotter – uncomfortably so – than the ground floor. This results in uneven home cooling. Make sure your attic insulation has an accurate R-value for your geographic location and home layout. The higher the R-value, the better your insulation will work to maintain cool air where it belongs: in your home, not escaping up and out of the attic.
5. Consider a Zoning System
Even though a ,,home zoning system (also known as “zoned HVAC”) may be a bigger investment, it creates customizable temperature zones throughout your living space for added comfort and specific needs. Zoning systems use dampers in the ductwork to control and redirect air to certain areas of the home (for example, is the baby’s nursery above the garage always too hot or too cold?). A professional can design and implement the best number of zones based on the size and layout of your home to reduce or eliminate uneven home cooling.
The HVAC experts at Outstanding Heating and Cooling are happy to help you with your unique uneven home cooling issues. Let us know if we can come out and inspect your ductwork, give you a free quote on a new zoning system installation, or if its time for a thermostat upgrade. Outstanding Heating and Cooling is your top-rated HVAC company serving the Kettering and surrounding areas. Our techs are highly trained and certified- ready to help you achieve the comfort you deserve at home.
