On a hot and humid summer day, you want to be just as comfortable watching television in the downstairs den as you are doing so in your upstairs bedroom. However, it’s not uncommon for houses to be cooler in certain areas than they are in others. There are a number of reasons for this that you can remedy in a timely and affordable manner.
Ducts or Vents Are Clogged
Over time, dust, dirt and other particles gets inside of your ducts and coat them with a thick layer of debris. This debris reduces the amount of air that can get through the duct as well as the distance it can travel before it is completely blocked. While less common, a clogged vent prevents air from getting from the duct into a given space.
Typically, rooms that are closer to where the cold air is distributed throughout the home are cooler than those farther away. If a vent is clogged, it will struggle to make the room it’s in as cool as other rooms that don’t have clogged vents or similar airflow issues.
The easiest way to take care of this problem is to have your ducts cleaned by professionals such as those at Air Control Home Services. Ideally, you’ll have your home’s ducts cleaned at least every three years, but you can choose a schedule that meets your needs and budget. You can time this service with your regular AC maintenance appointments to stay on top of it.
Ducts Are Loose or Damaged
Instead of a clogged duct, your home might have a damaged or loose duct that is allowing air to escape before it gets to its intended destination. In some cases, the accumulation of debris inside a duct will cause it to sag or disconnect from other ducts.
A hole or crack can also form, allowing air to escape before it can get around to every room in your home. The easiest way to fix the issue is to have ducts inspected on a regular basis to catch these and other potential issues.
Regular cleanings can prevent sagging, while repairing or replacing ducts can take care of any problems that already exist. Sealing HVAC ducts may also prevent them from becoming clogged or otherwise ineffective at distributing cool air.
The Cooling System Is the Wrong Size
A cooling system must be properly sized to ensure that it is able to evenly cool your home without incident. If a system is too small, it won’t be able to generate enough cold air to reach every part of your house. If the system is too large, it could cool the air too quickly.
While this may seem like a good thing, it also means that the system won’t run long enough to take humidity out of the air. Ultimately, you could be left with interior spaces that are cooler but still full of sticky moist air.
Also, if your AC is too large, it won’t allow for gradual cooling in all areas of the house. Therefore, you may find that certain rooms remain both hot and humid even after the cooling system has run.
Finally, a system that is too large for your house is prone to short cycling. This means that it will continually start and stop instead of running for a few minutes, turning off and staying off until the house warms up again. Continuous short cycling means additional wear on parts and a shorter lifespan.
To remedy this issue, contact a professional to review product options in the area. This will enable you to make a confident purchase decision that can help you save on maintenance and other costs for up to two decades.
Your Cooling System Is Old
A cooling system generally lasts for about a decade, but proper maintenance may help to extend its useful life for another few years after that. However, regardless of how much upkeep you do, your current cooling system has a finite useful life. As it approaches the end of that lifespan, it will likely be less efficient than it was at first.
It’s also worth noting that it is probably less efficient than new products available today. This is in large part because efficiency standards have improved over the last two decades. Ultimately, you’ll start to notice that only certain parts of your home are getting sufficiently cool air.
To resolve issues related to an aging system, you can simply have a new one installed. A professional can complete this project in a matter of hours after it arrives at your home.
Your Home Lacks Adequate Insulation
Even if your ducts are clean, and your air conditioner is relatively new, you could still have uneven cooling in your home. This is because a lack of insulation could allow cool air to escape your house during the summer months. It’s also possible that warm and moist air could be allowed to enter the home in areas that aren’t properly insulated.
In many homes, the attic, basement and garage have little or no insulation. You may also discover that living room walls or floors lack insulation or that other areas of the home have older material that has worn away.
To resolve this issue, you can have an indoor airflow test conducted to determine where air is entering or escaping your home. From there, you can have problem areas insulated or add more insulation in areas where it’s simply too thin.
You may also want to consider sealing doors, windows and other gaps throughout the house to ensure that air isn’t allowed to go where you don’t want or need it to. You can seal gaps with a simple weatherstripping product or by caulking around the frame where the door or window isn’t flush.
Physics May Work Against You
If you live in a multistory home, you’ll likely find that the air is warmer upstairs and cooler downstairs. This is because warm air rises, so it will typically be hotter in an upstairs master bedroom than a first-floor den during the summer months.
The solution to the problem is to implement a zoned cooling system in your house. Installing such a system allows you to set the thermostat lower in areas that need extra help reaching your desired temperature.
Is the Thermostat in the Right Place?
A thermostat that is not installed or placed correctly may have a hard time sensing the temperature in your house. Therefore, it might decide that your home doesn’t need to be cooled or that certain zones in a zoned cooling setup don’t need to be regulated.
When this happens to you, the best solution is to have the thermostat moved, repaired or replaced. At Air Control Home Services, we can replace older products with a smart thermostat that is easier to control whether you’re home or away. In addition to installing or repairing a cooling system, we can clean and seal ducts to ensure that they allow air to flow as it should.
When you need air conditioning service, contact our team at Air Control Home Services in Lake Havasu City, AZ.
