Solutions for colder room in house

[Liz]

We moved into a new home this summer and didn't realize the master bedroom/bathroom is colder than the rest of the house. This wasn't apparent till winter. It's not cold enough to bother my husband and me, but my mom is moving in with us and we are giving her the master bedroom and it will be a problem for her. I know I need to call a heating/cooling company to ask if anything can be done, but before I do that I thought I'd ask here to see if anyone has found a solution to a similar problem. Right now I'm thinking a portable space heater is probably the best way to go. Appreciate any ideas or suggestions. Thank you!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We moved into a new home this summer and didn't realize the master bedroom/bathroom is colder than the rest of the house. This wasn't apparent till winter. It's not cold enough to bother my husband and me, but my mom is moving in with us and we are giving her the master bedroom and it will be a problem for her. I know I need to call a heating/cooling company to ask if anything can be done, but before I do that I thought I'd ask here to see if anyone has found a solution to a similar problem. Right now I'm thinking a portable space heater is probably the best way to go. Appreciate any ideas or suggestions. Thank you!

I'd be cautious about a portable space heater in a bathroom. Have you every checked the seals on windows (if there is a window in the bathroom)? Is the heat vent blocked?

Suggestions could be heated towel bars or is installing a heated floor possible? Rugs on the floor.

 

[Summer2018]

Portable space heaters are a fire hazard, especially if it will be on while she is sleeping. My friends' home burned to the ground because of a space heater in their basement.

We recently installed a Mitsubishi Ductless heating/cooling system for a room in our house that had no heat. It works wonderfully well, and it is perfectly safe and up to code.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I agree with checking window seals and heat vents. My vents have little switches that open and close them, and the previous owners may have set them purposely to keep their sleeping space cool. Especially check any that are behind the bed or dresser or something - not completely blocked, but out of view. You might not have noticed they were closed if you moved in during the summer.

A space heater while sleeping would scare me.

 

[NotUrsula]

Obviously, first thing to do is make sure that the zoned heating is not set to keep that area cooler. That eliminated, you need help from an A/C firm to rebalance the airflow in your building.

There is such a thing as booster fans for the ductwork, if the ducting run is very long or has lots of angles, sometimes the heat kind of dissipates before it gets to the room; especially true if it is in a wing by itself. That's the simplest answer, but ...

Is there an air return vent in that part of the house? IME of an unevenly heated/cooled house (mine is like a chimney, tall and very narrow), the most likely recommendation that the HVAC company will give you is to add an extra air return there, so that the static air pressure will be better balanced and the new air from the vents can enter the room more easily without fighting for space, if you will. (That's a very simplistic way of talking about airflow and heat exchange, I know.)

BTW, if by "new home" you meant a new build, call your builder. If you got a warranty on the house, this kind of adjustment should be covered.

ETA: Yes, the orientation of the room vis-a-vis the sun, or dense vegetation, can affect the temperature of a room, but that is normally also affected by time of day. If it is consistently colder in winter or hotter in summer, changes to the airflow or insulation should make some difference at least part of the time. Another possibility, since it's a self-contained suite, might be adding a fireplace, depending on if there is a suitable outer wall to vent it. For a bathroom, the simplest solution is a ceiling-mounted heat lamp.

 

[_19disnA]

If you have a basement, can you check to see if the damper is fully open for that room? Older homes have manual doors on each vent leading from the furnace to each pipe. (Even if you have no basement, there should still be doors that can be adjusted on each run of the ducting, wherever the furnace/AC is located.) New homes might have electrically controlled dampers, but you can also adjust those. Check the position of each one since the prior owners may have closed/partially closed certain ones to get the distribution of heating/cooling they preferred. When the furnace if running, do you notice a smaller amount of warm air coming out of those vents compared to other parts of the house? Also check that the floor vents in the room are fully open and not blocked by furniture. Do you notice any drafts from poorly sealed windows?

 

[RangerPooh]

Our master bedroom had wood style laminate flooring when we moved in, and was always cold Of course 40 year old windows and insulation didn't help. What we did find was the the flooring had the thinnest padding possible and that wasn;t helping with insulation. We replaced with carpet and that alone has helped.

Depending on how your home is you might also consider replacing windows if you're noticing more draft there than you'd like.

 

[dish rag]

Ductless mini split. Well worth the money.

 

[Liz]

The home is just new to us. It's actually almost 3 years old. I'll check all these suggestions this weekend. Thanks for the input!!

 

[Liz]

If you have a basement, can you check to see if the damper is fully open for that room? Older homes have manual doors on each vent leading from the furnace to each pipe. (Even if you have no basement, there should still be doors that can be adjusted on each run of the ducting, wherever the furnace/AC is located.) New homes might have electrically controlled dampers, but you can also adjust those. Check the position of each one since the prior owners may have closed/partially closed certain ones to get the distribution of heating/cooling they preferred. When the furnace if running, do you notice a smaller amount of warm air coming out of those vents compared to other parts of the house? Also check that the floor vents in the room are fully open and not blocked by furniture. Do you notice any drafts from poorly sealed windows?

We do have a basement and we're finishing that off right now so my husband and I can move our bedroom down there making room for my mom upstairs.

 

[starry_solo]

The home is just new to us. It's actually almost 3 years old. I'll check all these suggestions this weekend. Thanks for the input!!

Depending on what state you live in, you might still be able to contact the builder regarding this issue.

 

[dish rag]

The home is just new to us. It's actually almost 3 years old. I'll check all these suggestions this weekend. Thanks for the input!!

It’s not unheard of for newer homes to have poor airflow to usually a back room. Provided the duct has not fallen apart the most you can do is adjust airflow. Expect this room to be warm in the summer if you live in a hot climate, or on hot days otherwise. Depending on the lay out you could have a larger duct tied in and run right to that room. Might take away from other areas. Also, check the attic insulation. I have seen builders skimp, or even forget to do areas way back from the attic access.

 

[easyas123]

Came here to add this - good suggestion!

Ductless mini split. Well worth the money.

 

[luvsJack]

We have one bedroom that is colder. We have had everything checked and its not anything to do with insulation or HVAC or any of that. Its just the way the house is facing. That room is on the north/west corner. And its just a couple of degrees colder in there than the other rooms.

It was dd's room and now its for the granddaughters when they spend the night. We bought an electric blanket for the bed but also have extra heavy blankets for that bed. If the oldest dgd is over, she uses the electric blanket. The youngest, just the heavy blankets. We do not have a space heater in there.

My mom's house had one room that was colder than the rest of the house. Room was on the same corner. Our houses face the same direction. Several years before she died, she had a complete new system put in and new insulation. That room still stayed colder.

Neither house has really expensive windows. Mom did have double paned windows. Both rooms in both houses have two windows on diagonal walls. No clue if that has anything to do with it.

 

[firefly_ris]

How many vents are in the room, how big is the room?

 

[DLgal]

I'd be cautious about a portable space heater in a bathroom. Have you every checked the seals on windows (if there is a window in the bathroom)? Is the heat vent blocked?

Suggestions could be heated towel bars or is installing a heated floor possible? Rugs on the floor.

We have a portable space heater and ONLY use it in the bathroom. We have a similar situation in our home, where the master bedroom and bath are always colder than the rest of the house. It is unbearable to get out of the shower in a bathroom that is 60 degrees in the winter with the heat set to 68. It is a Lansko ceramic tower style heater. We unplug it when it's not running, as recommended.

OP, don't bother calling a heating company. There is nothing they can do about this type of thing. Most homes will have an area that is always warmer or cooler than the rest of the house. If anything, you could consider extra insulation, but that's a job for a general contractor.

 

[DLgal]

It’s not unheard of for newer homes to have poor airflow to usually a back room. Provided the duct has not fallen apart the most you can do is adjust airflow. Expect this room to be warm in the summer if you live in a hot climate, or on hot days otherwise. Depending on the lay out you could have a larger duct tied in and run right to that room. Might take away from other areas. Also, check the attic insulation. I have seen builders skimp, or even forget to do areas way back from the attic access.

Our room is in the back of the house and never gets direct sunlight. It is colder than the rest of the house even in the summer. The other bedrooms are in the front of the house and above the garage and they are the warmest rooms in the house.

Our entire downstairs stays cool all year also due to heat reflective windows and again, not much direct sunlight.

Our home is not quite 5 years old.

 

[luvsJack]

We have a portable space heater and ONLY use it in the bathroom. We have a similar situation in our home, where the master bedroom and bath are always colder than the rest of the house. It is unbearable to get out of the shower in a bathroom that is 60 degrees in the winter with the heat set to 68. It is a Lansko ceramic tower style heater. We unplug it when it's not running, as recommended.

OP, don't bother calling a heating company. There is nothing they can do about this type of thing. Most homes will have an area that is always warmer or cooler than the rest of the house. If anything, you could consider extra insulation, but that's a job for a general contractor.

We used to have one for the bathroom too and plan to get another one. Or one that we can install in the wall. I would rather have a space heater in the bathroom than someone turning the heat up to 80 so they can shower.

 

[jo-jo]

We have baseboard hot water. The bedroom at the end of the run is always colder.. The bedroom at the beginning of the run is always the hottest.

 

[Liz]

We used to have one for the bathroom too and plan to get another one. Or one that we can install in the wall. I would rather have a space heater in the bathroom than someone turning the heat up to 80 so they can shower.

That's what I was thinking, that it will be unbearably hot everywhere else if we need to turn up the thermostat enough to make her comfortable in that room. We already keep our thermostat probably higher than average (70-74).