Can you Warm up a House in a Weekend?

Its become a bit cold around here lately. I've heard a lot of folks talking about how cold their home is, and that they have no idea why. When I dig into it a little bit I usually start out by asking if the house was warm last year. Often times the answer is "yes." I then start asking them what has changed. Do they have central air conditioning? Did they use it? If so, did they change the filters during the summer? Most central air systems use the same ducts as your furnace. Usually the answer is "no." Go change your filters.

Sometimes I'll ask if they moved their furniture around at all. I usually get some strange looks with that one. That will ask what that matters. I'll just ask them if they did. If they say "yes," then the next question is, "did that include any lamps?" If the answer to that is "yes," then I ask them where they put it, and is it anywhere near their thermostat. If a floor lamp or hanging lamp has been moved or installed near the thermostat, that lamp is going to keep the air near the thermostat warm, and therefore the rest of the house will get cold.

Another problem somewhat related to the lamp issue, is if your duct work was installed poorly and you have a duct blowing directly at your thermostat. What this will do is cause your furnace to cycle on and off, all the time. The furnace will kick on, the duct will put the air on the thermostat, the thermostat will think it has done its job, it will turn the furnace off, and then immediately get cold again. This can also happen if you have moved a piece of furniture into a location that directs the air toward the thermostat.

You could always have a thermostat that is going bad. Luckily, a basic thermostat doesn't cost very much, and the instructions for installation are pretty straight-forward. Make sure you follow them exactly, but you should be able to replace your thermostat yourself.

Before you pay someone several hundreds of dollars to "clean your ducts" take some time to look at whats going on in your house, it may be something very simple and as free as can be.

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