My twins' room is freezing! - Update

[WNDMom]

We've been setting our thermostat to 74 degrees every night, because the twins' room is so cold. I've been trying to get the heating and air people to check it out ( the house is just a little over one year old) since July. It was also much warmer in there in the summer. Anyway, they say it's just because it's at the end of the line. I closed some of the vents, dress them in footed blanket sleepers, and cover them with three blankets, and they are still cold. I just checked the indoor thermostat, and their room is 6 degrees colder than the thermostat sitting about 15 feet away. This is with the door half open. We usually close it, so they won't be wandering around the house at night.

Does anyone have any experience with a problem like this one? I think something must be blocking the vent, but no one will listen!

Sarah

 

[Cruisin]

Can you see the ductwork, in the basement (if you have one).

I know that ours have little flaps(levers on the outside of the duct) that you can control how much air/heat gets through the ducts.

Maybe the one to that room is closed? or not as far open as the other rooms?

 

[WNDMom]

Can you see the ductwork, in the basement (if you have one).

I know that ours have little flaps(levers on the outside of the duct) that you can control how much air/heat gets through the ducts.

Maybe the one to that room is closed? or not as far open as the other rooms?

Thanks, but we don't have a basement, and I can only see the vents in each room.

 

[Linnie The Pooh]

My parents have a one level house and while growing up, I was always freezing in my bedroom. Only when they got a new furnace, did they realize that I actually was freezing and not making it up as they thought...The guy who replaced their furnace showed them there was a damper on the furnace for the rooms and to my room and it had been closed for the 14 years that I lived there. They finally acknowledged that I had no heat for all those years and wasn't nuts to sit in my heated waterbed every second I was in my room during the winter. Small wonder I was freezing all those years!! I had no heat!!

Maybe call a heating person to come out and check it. They should be able to tell. It's worth it, imo, you don't want your babies cold!!

 

[golfgal]

I would get some door gates and leave their door open so the warm air in the rest of the house can circulate through there. That will warm it up. There are booster fans you can put into heating ducts to bring more air out of the ducts, that will also help. What do you have on their window? Do you have storm windows for the winter and are they shut? You might want to put some insulated cellular shades on the windows. If they have a couple outside walls, especially a north facing wall, it is going to be colder in there.

 

[froglady]

DDs room is always warmer in summer and colder in winter. It's due to the fact that when the heat pump was installed by the previous owners (1980) the company only put one vent in her room. Our room, which is the same size, has two. My in-laws (SIL wears sweaters in the Orlando summer) will be sleeping in there this week, so I'll leave a small electric heater, plus extra bedding.

I am also amazed at the amount of dust I find when I remove the vent covers and clean them twice a year! They are certainly blocked by dust build-up.

 

[mickeyfan2]

They sell small blowers that go on the register to help pull the air into the room. I would check the duct work and see if a second duct is needed. BTW where does the duct run and how far is their room from the heater or A/C?

 

[tar heel]

Is it upstairs? If so, is there heated space underneath? Our bonus room (over garage) is cold as heck, so I rarely venture in there. It's used primarily for rock band practice, but I know a lot of people use those spaces as bedrooms.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Our bedroom and the one 2 of my boys share is cold. We have mini blinds on the window and I plan to replace theirs with insulated roman shades. I don't think that there is anything that is closed off ventwise, but I will check. We set up a space heater in the boy's bedroom before bedtime so it will warm up and move it to our room after the younger one goes to bed. I don't run it anywhere when we are sleeping, but at least it warms the room up somewhat before they are in there sleeping. I can't leave the doors open at night because we have kittens who would not allow us to get any sleep.

Linnie The Pooh, I felt terrible for you with your parents not believing you! Bet you said, "I told you so!" a few times.

 

[WNDMom]

The air conditioner/heater is at the back of the house, and their room is on the front corner (so they have two outside walls). Their room is downstairs, and the only room that doesn't get good air circulation. When you walk in, it feels like dead air.

I hope I can get the heating and air people out here today. The problem I'm running into is this. I want the people who installed the original system to check it out. Unfortunately, I've called them continuously since we moved into the house (JUNE!), and they won't call me back. I think they are afraid they will be liable for any problems, since the house was only 10 months old in June. I threatened to call the Chamber of Commerce about how the technicians won't return my call, and ask for another company to use. I hate to resort to threats, but my babies are freezing!

To update, we left their door halfway open last night. It was 68 degrees in there room when I went to sleep. 74/75 in the rest of the downstairs.

 

[WNDMom]

I'm going to check out the blowers to put in the ductwork. Sounds like a good idea!

 

[tarmand]

We are having the same problem and were told that it's because the ducts are longer to her room. I'm definietly going to check into the blower and closed damper. Thanks!

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

Have you checked the windows for leaks...even so..maybe some extra insulation stripping and you can cover the window with a blanket to keep the cold out....
If the system is new, you can call the manufacturer and get another company to check it under warranty ( usually HVAC have 5 yr wattanty, you will have to pay labor, but parts will be covered)...can you call the builder? He has ultimate responsibility for the homes warranty

Next, if the HVAC company won't come out, then call your city/county licensing board...file a complaint...then send them a letter telling them you are going to contact their insurance company for damages...anything to make them take notice!

 

[mickeyfan2]

Also you might went to add a second zone to the cold room. There will be dampers that only open to the zone calling for heat. We have three zones of A/C and 5 zones of heat in our home. Works great, but there is cost to initiate it.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Yes, LOL, I had the exact same problem when my twins were little. Their room was at the "end" of the ductwork, and heat just didn't seem to reach the room too well. We bought a wall heater with auto shut off (Home Depot) and had it installed in their room by an electrician, and later we disabled it when they were older but too young to be trusted with it (worry about fire). Now it's DD8s room and still a bit cooler, but it's not as much of an issue as it was when they were little.

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

My house is so cold also and I cannot figure out what to do. At night we turn the thermostat down to 60 degrees and the furnace will still run through the night. I do not know how to keep the heat inside my house. The electric bill is so expensive because the furnace keeps running.

I have replaced the weather stripping in all outside doors, checked the windows for leaks and it is still cold. It's a townhome so it's not a huge place. I have 3 vents on the main level; two in the dining room (still confused why there is 2 because it is small and there isn't a vent in the kitchen) and one in the living room (none in the bathroom on the main floor). Then upstairs there is 3 vents; 1 in the 2nd bedroom, 1 in the master bedroom in the far corner of the room (it's a pretty big room) and 1 in the master bathroom. I know upstairs is cold because of the vaulted ceilings and the main level is cold because it sits on top of the garage...but what can I do???? I need help, any suggestions at all? I didn't even realize you could add more vents, is this expensive?

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

Pooh...sounds like you need some insulation...is it wood frame?

I know that you have to have the HVAC balanced right ...there are companies that can test and balance the unit...but I don't know if you have to have an HVAC contractor "fix" the balancing

I am the manager for a general contractor, but we sub out all mechanical work

 

[Tiggeroo]

op, there are several things that can be causing this problem. The first is a duct work problem. It could be as simple as a closed vent, there could be a problem with the duct work itself such as a crushed pipe or insulation inside blocking air flow. The contractor could have done a poor job laying out the duct work, lack of returns, etc.
Also i've found alot of contractors undersize the units. How many square feet is your home. Is it a two story home with alot of unusual angles and high ceilings. Homes like this really do better with two systems.
I'm sure the contractor who installed the system is avoiding you. These problems are generally more difficult to fix then a broken furnace. Dh has had to go in and try to correct air flow problems in homes. Sometimes it's not possible without re-running duct work which isn't easy if you don't have a basement and attic in a 2 story.
The fact that the room is on the end of the line is no excuse. You need to have proper air flow to all the rooms. If he's saying that you just can't get strong enough air to that room either the duct is poorly designed, the unit is undersized, or the blower motor in the unit is undersized(which they can change) If this home is new it should be under warranty. Standard here is 1 yr parts and labor. If you are having a hard time with the contractor contact the builder as he is often the one who has to monitor the warranties for that year.
I'm assuming you have forced air. If you have hot water the problem could be simply air in the lines.

 

[tiff211]

Oh my goodness!! The baby's room has to be at least 5 degrees colder than all the other rooms in the house. I have been telling DH this since DD14 was in there. He had 1001 reasons why it has been like that, her bed was too close to the vent, she kept her door closed, etc. Then since I have been complaining about it while the baby is in there, he says it's because the door is closed, last night he said our room is warmer because there are two of us in there! She woke up at 5am and I went in there, she had kicked the covers off and her little toes and fingers were freezing and she had socks on!! I woke him up and said "Feel the baby!!!" He saw I was not a happy camper! He says, I'll fix it. My BF's DH owns his own HVAC business so I am going to ask him to come over and take a look at it when they get back from WDW!! They left this morning, lucky ducks!! We have an electric heater that I'll use in the meantime, since she is too young to bother it.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Well, I asked my DH about the dampers and he assured me that they are open. Then we started playing around with them (the dampers--you all get your minds out of the gutter! ) and realized that one of them was closed. HA! I won't tell him that I gained this knowledge from DISing... We'll see how much of a difference it makes tonight.