Air Conditioning Maintenance: Fixing Uneven Cooling

An anonymous humorist gave us the quip “If you don’t like the weather, wait around for a few minutes.” While it makes us smile about our local weather uncertainty, it should not reflect what happens inside a home. Walking around in your home should not mirror season changes outdoors.

If your home has hot and cold zones, no matter which season you are experiencing, it can be a problem. Here are some common reasons for uneven cooling (or heating) and some potential Air Conditioning Maintenance solutions that can make a difference.

Common Origins for Uneven Cooling

Each home is unique, so the uneven cooling problem in your home might be caused by one or more of these issues, or by something entirely different. Here are some common Air Conditioning Maintenance issues that contribute to uneven cooling.

• If your home is multi-story, it is common to experience a temperature difference between the upper and lower levels. That is because hot air rises and cool air sinks. The design of your air conditioning system should compensate for this, but multiple floors make a difference.
• Insulation was installed to slow the transfer of heat (from hot to cold). The largest heat transfer happens through the ceiling/attic. Look to see whether the attic is adequately insulated—there should be approximately 12” of insulation in an attic. Sealing, caulking, and weatherproofing are all good steps, but ensuring you have adequate attic insulation is the most important in keeping the heat transfer to a minimum.
• If you made a room or wing addition, it could affect your air conditioner’s performance. Your system was designed with existing building specifications. If you added space to be cooled or lengthened the length of your duct network, the existing system might not be capable of meeting the new load requirements.
• Window Treatments. The south exposure of your home receives the brunt of the solar heat bombarding your home. Blackout curtains or thermal barrier window treatment on the south side of your home can reduce the daily solar gain in your home.
• The cool air travels from the central air cabinet to each room through a network of ducts. The sheet metal in the ducts expands and contracts several times per hour with each cooling cycle. This movement can create gaps or leaks in the ducts. Since the air is moving under pressure, whenever a leak develops, the result will be a significant loss of cooling.
• Check the supply vents in warm spaces to make sure the vents are not covered by furniture or drapes. Uncovering a vent(s) could be an easy fix to the problem!

Further Air Conditioning Maintenance Solutions

With each of the common causes listed above, a potential solution was provided. Here are some tips for improving air circulation within the home to help alleviate uneven temperatures no matter what the cause might be:

• Ceiling Fans. Turn a ceiling fan on at the lowest setting and let it run continuously. Ceiling fans have a seasonal direction and, in the summer, they should spin counterclockwise to push air down to distribute cool air throughout the room. Change the direction with a remote or a small switch at the base of the fan. Be sure to change the direction of the fan at the start of the heating season. A clockwise rotation pulls air up and out to circulate warm air near the ceiling.
• Thermostat Fan. The thermostat has two fan settings—Auto and On. The auto setting uses the blower fan during the cooling/heating cycle, then shuts it off, a normal setting. If you experience uneven cooling, turn the setting to the On position. The blower motor runs continuously, improving the mixture of hot and cool air throughout the house.
• System Size. When you anticipate a replacement time for your HVAC system, work with your contractor to ensure the new system is sized correctly and fix or compensate for some of the common causes listed above.

Have questions about Air Conditioning Maintenance?

With our four decades of experience as an AC Repair and Air Conditioning Maintenance contractor, AirPro Houston provides you with the skill and expertise to assist with the steps to answer questions about Air Conditioning Maintenance.

We have several financing options available with great options with up to 72-month terms with approved credit. Call us today at  281-880-8805 and let us partner with you for all of your Furnace Repair, Tune Up maintenance, and AC Replacement needs.