You love coming home after a day of work. It feels so good walking into a cool house … except for the area way in the back. You walk in and feel the difference immediately. You can’t help but think, “Why is my room always hot?”
Lots of homeowners experience inconsistencies in temperature throughout their homes. The air conditioner seems to be doing its job, except for one area that always feels hotter than the rest of the house. And if you adjust the temperature to be happy there, you freeze everywhere else.
What’s a homeowner to do? It turns out there are quite a few things you can do to fix the problem. It’s all about the cause of the issue.
Why Is One Room Hot Compared to the Other Rooms?
The air conditioner is one of the hardest working appliances inside your home. From the moment you turn it on, it must condition the air to your desired temperature, then pump it into every room in your home. A lot can go wrong anywhere in that process.
Clogged Air Filter
An air filter’s job is to clean the air that circulates through your heating and cooling system. Filters trap and hold many types of particulates and contaminants that would otherwise impact your comfort and health. Things like:
- Dirt and dust
- Pollen
- Fibers and lint
- Pet hair
- Mold
- Bacteria and microorganisms
Over time, these items build up on your air filter. If you don’t change or clean it, the air filter can no longer do its job. It restricts the airflow, which can lessen cool air from moving into each room.
Oversized Air Conditioner
We have this innate concept that bigger is always better. But when it comes to air conditioners, it’s simply not true.
An air conditioner does more than cool your home. It also removes humidity to create a comfortable living environment no matter what it’s like outside. If your AC unit is too large, it will produce more conditioned air than is necessary. As it blows air out into each room, the unit will shut down before completing an entire cycle. This is called short cycling. It cools the home but doesn’t have time to remove moisture, creating a more humid environment. Certain rooms will be impacted more than others.
Fixing this problem is tricky. If it’s a new air conditioner, you might not want to replace it—it was expensive! In some cases, a dehumidifier may help correct the problem. If it’s a growing problem and you’ve noticed a steep incline in utility bill costs, it might be time to replace it with a new air conditioner.
Ductwork Issues
HVAC stands for “heating, ventilation, and air conditioning.” Many homeowners overlook the ventilation part of the system, not realizing the importance ductwork plays in overall comfort. Without proper ductwork in place, conditioned air would have no way of reaching certain rooms in your home.
Like a furnace or air conditioner, ductwork has a life span. It will wear out over time. Maybe the ductwork wasn’t installed correctly. Or it’s improperly insulated. Or it’s crushed, torn, or cracked. Or maybe it just needs a good cleaning.
If the ductwork isn’t in good working condition, it allows the conditioned air to flow where it isn’t supposed to go. And if the air leaks into the attic or crawlspace, it means less of it is arriving in your rooms.
Closed Air Vents
When a house is built, air vents are positioned in such a way as to allow conditioned air to flow freely throughout your home. (Assuming it’s properly built.) Over time, these vents and registers may get blocked or closed, restricting how air flows throughout your home.
A quick maintenance check can stop this problem. Walk around your home and glance at each vent—is it working with air flowing from within? Drapery, boxes, furniture, and more are often placed over vents, restricting the airflow. Moving them out of the way can instantly make a difference in room temperature.
In other cases, you may have shut the air vent down in a rarely used room, trying to lower your utility bills. This isn’t the way to do it. Your heating and cooling system is designed for proper airflow. All ductwork, vents, and registers are interconnected to create a loop system for pushing conditioned air out into each room and returning air back to the individual units for conditioning. By closing off one of the vents, you’re creating an imbalance in the system that it needs to compensate for. It’s creating a problem within the system itself.
If you really want to control the temperature better in different parts of your home, a zoned system might be a better choice. It allows you to control temperatures based on regions throughout your home.
Home Additions
As homeowners, we consistently morph and change our living environments. Maybe you’ve busted down a wall to create an open-concept living. Or you added an addition for more space.
Did you replace your air conditioner too? When an air conditioner is installed, it is fitted according to specific measurements of your layout. If that layout changes, it can impact the way your air conditioner operates and cools your home.
A new addition may have added additional ductwork with new vents to heat and cool your new space. This can impact equipment functionality. If it was a significant addition, talking with an experienced HVAC company such as Entek HVAC might help you discover the best way to proceed.
Solve Your Cooling Problems Today
Sometimes fixing a cooling problem can be as simple as installing a new air filter. If it’s a bigger problem, it may require adjusting or upgrading your air conditioner or ductwork. If you’ve noticed a change in the temperatures inside your home, or you have one room that is colder or warmer, it’s time for a new approach to your heating and cooling needs. Reach out to an HVAC professional and find out what’s causing one room to run hot and the best course of action. You’ll love the results.
