Top Ways to Prevent Cold Spots During Cold Weather

Even with spring right around the corner, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s time to break out your shorts and flip-flops. As a resident of Midland, North Carolina, you undoubtedly know the temperature continues to stay quite chilly toward the end of winter. As you transition from winter to spring, it can be difficult to eliminate cold spots throughout the home. Fortunately, there are several tips and tricks you can put into action to prevent cold spots during cold weather.

Examine the Arrangement of Furniture

Many homeowners are under the impression that they need to spend a lot to upgrade their HVAC systems to eliminate cold spots. The truth is that sometimes simply rearranging the furniture can do the trick. With this in mind, check the arrangement of your furniture to ensure that your air vents are not blocked. In addition, check your drapes to see if any of them are blocking floor air vents.

If you notice that any of the vents are covered, you’ll need to rearrange your furniture or pull the drapes aside. This optimizes hot airflow throughout the home and prevents cold spots.

Close the Fireplace

There’s nothing better than getting warm and toasty by the fireplace. Toward the end of winter, though, you may find yourself not using the fireplace a lot because of temperature swings. When you’re not using the fireplace, make sure to shut its damper. In doing so, you prevent warm air from escaping, which is key to eliminating cold spots.

Check the Placement of the Thermostat

If the thermostat is in a room that has ample exposure to sunlight, it will read a higher temperature than what the rest of the house is achieving. As a result, it will signal the furnace to kick off while many parts of the home are still cold. The same applies if the thermostat is placed near a heat-producing appliance. Many homeowners make the mistake of installing the thermostat in or close to the kitchen. When cooking, this tricks the thermostat into thinking the rest of the home is as warm as the kitchen, which can translate into cold spots.

An easy fix for a poorly misplaced thermostat is to upgrade to a wireless version. You can install a wireless receiver in the original placement of the thermostat along with a wireless thermostat in the coldest part of the house. The receiver communicates wirelessly with the thermostat up to 500 feet. Even better, the two devices can communicate with one another through walls and ceilings, meaning you can place them on different floors. This is especially ideal if one floor of the home has a tendency to have many cold spots.

Inspect and Clean the Ductwork

If you use a forced-air HVAC system, the air has to travel through ductwork before entering each room throughout the home. If there are holes or separations in the ductwork, warm air will escape the ductwork and cause cold spots. As a result, the furnace has to work harder to heat your house. This results in unnecessary wear and tear along with higher heating expenses.

Dirt and dust can build up in the ductwork, as well. This also impacts your HVAC system’s energy efficiency and can result in cold spots. A simple fix to these issues is to have your ductwork cleaned. As a professional HVAC contractor is cleaning the ductwork, he or she can check for air leaks and repair them, which is essential to preventing cold spots and optimizing your HVAC system’s efficiency.

Install a Room-to-Room Ventilator

Ever noticed rooms with additional heating sources, such as a fireplace, tend to stay much warmer than other rooms? To prevent cold spots and to disperse heat from the warm rooms properly, you can install a room-to-room ventilator. The unit is comprised of a fan system that’s installed directly into the wall. It quietly pulls heat from the warmer room and distributes it to the colder room. You can install multiple room-to-room ventilators if you have several rooms that stay warmer than their adjoining rooms.

Dulin Mechanical Services specializes in a variety of HVAC installation and maintenance services. Contact us today at (704) 237-3641 to learn more about preventing cold spots during cold weather. We can perform a whole-home assessment to pinpoint the source of the cold spots and how to remedy the problem.

Image provided by Shutterstock