Uneven home cooling can make summer difficult to navigate. While some rooms in your home will achieve ideal temperatures, others may wind up too cool, while others feel like a heatwave.
This means you and your family will begin to feel you don’t have access to certain rooms, causing you to crowd into the areas with adequate cooling — straining family privacy and personal space. So, what can you do when your home isn’t cooling evenly?
Air Duct Cleaning to Clear Clogs and Respiratory Irritant Buildup
Many families don’t remember the last time they had maintenance done to their air duct system — others purchase used homes with no idea how long the previous owners neglected duct care. If you don’t know when yours were last checked, now’s the time to do it.
Air ducts contribute to uneven cooling after dirt, dust, and other detritus collect — building into serious clogs. The worse the clog, the more muscle your AC unit has to flex in order to push cool air through (not only causing uneven home cooling but also raising your electric bill as well). Vents that are completely blocked can deprive entire rooms of cool air.
Air duct cleaning should be handled by a professional capable of clearing the clogs (along with allergens polluting your air) and insulating the ducts in order to plug leaks and keep cool air from escaping outside. This means your home air will be fresh, clean, and more evenly spread throughout the house.
Check the HVAC Unit’s Thermostat
Some problems have simpler solutions than you’d expect. This can occasionally be the case with uneven home cooling.
Most modern home cooling systems have a thermostat with just two settings for the fan.
The first setting is “auto.” When engaged, this means that the fan only activates when the cooling system is on. Once your thermostat detects that the house has reached a desirable temperature, it disengages both the cooling system and the fan. This isn’t ideal — you want the air in your home to continue moving even when the air conditioner isn’t running.
The second setting, however, is “on.” This setting keeps the fan on even when the cooling system is off — helping to keep the air circulating throughout your home at all times. Be careful, though, as this setting will add a few dollars to your electric bill.
Consider a Zone System
A home zoning system allows you to install sensors throughout the house, which monitor temperature levels across different areas. With these sensors, you’ll be able to customize the environmental settings in each room. Prefer it chilly in the bedroom but only cool in the living room? Simply apply the setting.
Zoning is especially useful in multi-level homes. Often, the top floor will be hotter than the main floor thanks to the rising warm air. A zoning system will counteract this and apply more cool air to the hotter upper level.
As a bonus, a zone system can ultimately save you money on your electricity bill. Calibrating your system to ignore unused rooms (such as guest rooms or unused storage spaces) will allow you to use only the absolutely necessary cooling power. Zoning systems have been shown to save users up to 30% on their bills.
Check Your AC Unit Size
If HVAC equipment of the wrong size was installed into your home, whether too large or too small, it can prevent the even distribution of cool air. If the unit is too large, the temperature setting on the thermostat may trigger too soon — shutting down the system before it has had adequate time to cool the entire house evenly. If it’s too small, your HVAC system won’t be powerful enough to spread air to all areas of your home.
A professional HVAC service can help you inspect your HVAC setup by performing a load calculation.
Snyder Heating and Cooling Can Help You Stay Cool This Summer
Worried about even cooling in your home? Want to make sure that every area of your home is accessible during a blistering heatwave? Snyder Air Conditioning, Plumbing & Electric has been helping overheated families take a breath of fresh, cool air since 1973. You can contact us with service requests and questions or request a free quote on our website. Let us protect you from the summer heat today!
