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February 11, 2008
New Heat Not Hot
Q: Hi, Ed. This is a heating question that has me stumped. We had a house fire last year, and major work was done to repair and re-insulate the house. Also a brand new heating/AC system was installed complete with new thermostats. We keep the heat at 68 degrees like we always did, but for some reason the house feels cold, even with all that new insulation. How can this be? Pete (Oklahoma)
A: Pete, the key to your letter is that you have had new thermostats installed. That leads me to believe that it's one of two problems. Either your old thermostats were not level or did not work properly and what you thought was 68 degrees may have actually been much warmer. Or your new thermostats may be off, and your home may actually be cooler than 68 degrees.
The simple solution is to get a good thermometer and get an accurate temperature reading in your home. If your new thermostats are off, the installer can re-calibrate them and fix your problem. However, if the new thermostats are accurate, then the problem was with your old thermostats. In that case you'll have to get used to actual sixty-eight degree temperatures in your home or just turn up the heat a little more!
Ed Del Grande, the author of Ed Del Grande's House Call, was born and raised in a family-owned plumbing business. With more than 25 years of experience in every aspect of construction, he holds current Master licenses in pipefitting, fire protection and plumbing. If you have a question for Ed, send him an e-mail at eddelgrande@hgtvpro.com.Posted by Ed Del Grande at February 11, 2008 12:28 AM
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Comments
Pete-I agree with Ed regarding the level issue-I've seen a lot of that over the years. Are the new thermostat(s) electronic or are they mechanical? If mechanical, then they may need to have the "heat anticipator" adjusted to match the new furnace (contact your furnace guy). Another thing to consider is the location of the thermostat(s)-are they in a different location than before the fire? If so, they may be "satisfying" too early and moving them away from the source of hot air should correct it. Also, are all of the registers open? (Sounds like a dumb question but it's overlooked sometimes) You may want to experiment with "balancing" the system by partially closing the register nearest the thermostat which will "push" the warm air into the other rooms. Hope this helps.
Posted by: Chris Munshower at February 13, 2008 12:54 PM
Low Relative Humidity may be causing the "new" 68 to feel colder than the "old" 68. Also- if your new system is a forced air gas unit with over 90% efficiency or with a multi/two-stage burner, it will probably have a lower supply air temperature than the old system which could feel "not as hot" at the supply air registers when compared to the old one. That is a common complaint from people who are sensitive to "draftiness", and have up-graded to a high-efficiency unit.A humidifier could be added to correct the relative humidity, and the furnace should have some room for adjustment of the air delivery which would result in a warmer air delivery.
Posted by: Ron Rankel at February 13, 2008 6:23 PM
