Manage Hot and Cold Spots in Your Home with These Tips

Even in Orlando’s balmy climate, it’s not always easy to maintain an even indoor temperature. Hot and cold spots are fairly common, but there are several practical ways to get rid of them.  

Simple Solutions for Uneven Temperatures

Make sure all your air registers are open and not obstructed by furniture. Closing air registers doesn’t save energy, but instead causes an airflow imbalance in your heating and cooling system.

Install window treatments to block the sun from rooms that overheat. Awnings can reduce heat gain through windows by around 70 percent, and reflective blinds can cut heat gain by nearly half.

A ceiling fan can eliminate hot and cold spots simply by improving air circulation. In two-story homes, the upper floors tend to be warmer than the lower ones. Installing a ceiling fan at the top of a staircase can help even out the temperatures by drawing warm air downward.

Know When to Call a Pro

If you find air isn’t coming out of the register in a particular room, there could be blockage in the duct leading to that room. A technician can locate the blockage and remove it.

Certain aspects of your home’s design can contribute to uneven temperatures. These include a large great room, cathedral or vaulted ceilings, bay windows, and a sprawling floor plan. In such houses, a zoned HVAC system can help by allowing you to direct air to the areas that need it most.

An HVAC system that turns on and off too frequently, known as short cycling, is another potential cause of temperature imbalances. A dirty air filter can cause this, so make sure yours is clean. If it is, you may have a low refrigerant charge or an oversized system. A technician can correct your refrigerant charge and repair any leaks. If your system is oversized and more than 10 years old, consider upgrading to a new model to improve your comfort and lower your bills.

For help with hot and cold spots or any other home comfort issue, get in touch with us at Rinaldi’s Energy Solutions anywhere in the Orlando area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Orlando, Florida and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). 

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