Your home’s central furnace is supposed to distribute heated air through ducts that spreads out to all the rooms connected with vents. This usually includes all the rooms with the exception of the attic, garage, or a few utility rooms. Although this spread of heat won’t be 100% even—there are always some variations because of the placement of rooms or lower amounts of insulation—you can expect your household to enjoy a relative level of comfort from the furnace.
Uneven heating, however, is a common problem that may affect a central furnace. If you have noticed some rooms are getting colder than they normally are, or maybe some rooms are getting too hot, something isn’t right. It may be a small problem or it could require you to call us for heating repair in Gaithersburg, MD to diagnose the problem and fix it.
What Might Cause Uneven Heating
Uneven heating can point toward several issues affecting the HVAC system:
- Thermostat miscalibration: A thermostat picking up false readings may detect the house is warmer than it is, and will not keep the furnace running long enough to send sufficient heated air to all the rooms. You can’t push the thermostat higher to “fix” this, because it will cause rooms to become too hot. Technicians must recalibrate the thermostat.
- Broken zone control system: Does your house have zoning for the HVAC system so you can shut off heating or cooling to some rooms and not others? If so, uneven heating might be due to a broken zone controls system—failed room thermostats, lost connections to certain rooms, or broken ductwork dampers.
- Clogged air filter: A common cause of many household heating issues, a filter left in place too long will become congested and lower airflow. Less air will reach the distant rooms, causing uneven heating. Put in a clean filter to see if this improves the heating.
- Leaking air ducts: Air leaks in the ductwork will affect the entire HVAC system, but most noticeably cause a drop in heating to specific rooms connected to a damaged stretch of ductwork. Only professionals can effectively locate these leaks and seal them or repair/replace the ducts.
- Short-cycling: When the furnace starts to short-cycle (starting and stopping repeatedly over a brief time), it won’t remain on long enough for an even heating spread. There are many reasons for short-cycling, and you’ll want a professional to find out the cause so it can be repaired.
- Dying furnace: Uneven heating may be a warning that an older furnace (more than 15 years) is going into its final decline. We recommend calling for our technicians to give the furnace a thorough evaluation. They’ll tell you if it’s possible to go forward with repairs or if a replacement is a better choice.
No matter what is causing uneven heating across your house, you can trust our HVAC experts to have it solved. It’s our mission to provide high quality, efficient, and professional services that exceed customer expectations and surpass all others in the HVAC industry.
Call Tuckers Air Conditioning, Heating & Plumbing for service in Washington D.C., Montgomery and Frederick Counties. We pledge to exceed expectations at every turn.