This may be the first week you’ve had your home’s heating system on since… well, maybe since February. But Southern California hit a cold-spell this weekend, and there will be more ahead. Many heating systems clicked on during this time after long periods of hibernation.
Did your heater work up to your expectations when you fired it up? If it came on and started working, great. But if you noticed some rooms weren’t getting as warm as they should be, you may have problems. This uneven heating is a common trouble and one that may require you call us for heating repair in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA. Below, we’ll examine some of the possible causes of uneven heating in a house.
Blocked air vents
The first thing to check when you find you have rooms that aren’t heating up enough is to see if the vents for the room are open and clear of obstructions. During annual in heating and cooling, people sometimes may inadvertently block a room vent by moving furniture or other items. You want to make sure each vent is unblocked—it’s not only important for getting heat to all the rooms, it also helps prevent a rise in pressure in the ventilation system that can damage that HVAC system.
Clogged air filter
We recommend putting in a clean air filter into the HVAC system before the start of the cold weather. This gives the heater a fresh start and won’t place extra strain on the blower motor. If a clogged filter is left in place, it will restrict airflow through the heater and into the rooms. Some rooms will still receive sufficient heat, but more distant ones won’t, creating uneven heating troubles.
Broken zone controls
If your home uses zone controls so you don’t have to heat all the rooms at once whenever the heater turns on, lack of heating in some rooms may be due to a malfunction with the controls. Local thermostats may not be registering the requests for heat, or dampers in the ductwork might be stuck and blocking airflow. You’ll need our technicians to examine the controls and see what needs to be done.
Thermostat malfunctions
The household thermostat may be picking up false readings or registering that the house is warmer than it is. This will cause it to turn the heater off sooner than it should, and this can leave rooms in the house cold because there wasn’t time for enough heat to reach them. Please don’t raise the thermostat setting higher to try to compensate: this can damage the heating system. Instead, call us to calibrate the thermostat or fix it.
Failing heating system
One of the major signs of a heater that is too old to do its job anymore is uneven heating. If your heater is around 15 years old or older, it’s close to retirement age, and the poor heating is the big warning you need to install another. Our technicians can help you make this decision, and they’ll be honest about whether repairs can keep the heater going effectively for a few more years.
Saddleback Plumbing Heating & Air has served Orange County since 1981. Trust to our decades of experience for your heating repairs.