How to Regulate Temperature in Home: Winter is on its way to Ontario again, so make sure your home is as cozy as it can be, no matter where you are! Learn easy tips like use fans, keep your doors open, unblock air vents, get air ducts cleaned, use insulation or install or repair your HVAC system. If you need a reliable HVAC technician, contact Draft Control today.
How to Regulate Temperature in Home: 7 Helpful Tips
Though most of these tips directly relate to keeping your home warm in the cooler weather, they will also help to regulate the temperature in your home during the hot summer months too!
Tip #1: Use Your Ceiling Fans
Hot air rises, so when your furnace pumps out heat, it quickly rises to your ceiling. That’s where a ceiling fan can come in handy to push that hot air back down to where you are. Ceiling fans are especially useful if you have really high ceilings.
Make sure you turn your ceiling fan to the “reverse” setting. This setting is designed to suck the hot air away from your ceiling and back to the floor. Also, keep it on low so that it doesn’t create a cooling wind-chill effect. If your ceiling is an extremely high cathedral-style, you may want to try a “medium” speed.
Don’t worry about the extra electricity. Ceiling fans are very cheap to run, especially at lower speeds. The average fan will cost you about $3 per month to run, but you could save more on your heating bill because your house will feel much warmer, so you probably will be able to turn the thermostat down a degree or two.
In the summertime, a ceiling fan set to “normal” and on a higher speed will help to create a cooling effect and allow you to turn your AC down a few degrees or even off. Plus, a ceiling fan is much less expensive to run than your AC unit.
A ceiling fan will push warm air back down into your living space
Tip #2: Keep Your Furnace Fan Set to “On”
This second tip is similar to the first. Keep your furnace fan set to the “on” position. Most people have it set to “auto,” which means that it will automatically come on during your furnace’s heating cycle. While your furnace is on, the fan will move warm air throughout your home. When the heating cycle finishes, the fan shuts off. The warm air then quickly stagnates.
Keeping your furnace fan on means that the warm air from your furnace will continue to circulate through your home even when the heating cycle is finished. Don’t worry about the extra cost. A furnace fan does cost a bit more to run than a ceiling fan, about $38 per month, but it is well worth it with the added comfort it will bring to you and your family.
Tip #3: Keep Your Doors Open – The Inside Ones, That Is
If you want every room in your home to have the same temperature, then you need to keep your inside doors open. This will allow the heat pumped out by your HVAC unit to be evenly distributed throughout your house.
Closing a door to a room will either make that room warmer or cooler than the rest of your house depending on where your vents are located. This can be a technique to try if you don’t use that room and want to cut down on your heating costs. Simply close the vents and close the door to stop heat from going into that room.
In the summer, if you want your regulate the temperature in your home, you would also keep the doors open to allow the cooler air to circulate.
Make sure your air vents are clear from debris and not covered by furniture
Tip #4: Unblock Your Air Vents
Check all of your air vents to make sure that they are not blocked up with pet hair or dust. If they are, then wipe them off or suck out the debris with your vacuum.
Also, check to see that your vents are fully open and haven’t been accidentally closed. You also want to make sure that you don’t have any furniture blocking off your air vents. This tip makes sense all year round to help both your furnace and your AC unit.
Tip #5: Have Your Air Ducts Checked and Cleaned
If there are any cracks or leaks in your ductwork, the hot air from your furnace or the cold air from your air conditioner will escape before it reaches the furthest corners of your home. This will also cause your HVAC to work harder to keep the temperature that you have selected and may lead to unnecessary repairs or premature ageing.
Dirt can also be blocking your ducts and causing your furnace or AC to work harder. Get your ducts cleaned and change your furnace’s air filter regularly to make it easier on your HVAC system. The following video will show you what is involved in duct cleaning.
Getting your ducts cleaned will help the airflow through your home
Tip #6: Use Insulation
As we said earlier, hot air rises. If your attic isn’t well insulated, you can lose an incredible amount of heat out of your roof. Fortunately, your attic is usually one of the easiest parts of your home to insulate. Insulation also helps to keep the cool air in and the hot air out during the summer.
Here’s a great little video that shows you how you can beef up the insulation in your attic.
Adding extra insulation will help stop heat escaping through your roof
Tip #7: Repair or Install a New HVAC System
If none of these tips seem to be making a difference, then it’s probably time you contacted a professional HVAC technician. The technician should be able to tell if your system needs to be repaired or if it is time to replace it with a newer, higher efficiency model.
Learn more about repairing and installing HVAC systems in these great articles:
The Air Conditioner Replacement Process: What to Expect
When Should You Book a Furnace Replacement?
How To Find The Best Air Conditioning Repair in Ottawa
5 Signs You Need Furnace Repair in Ottawa
Trust Draft Control with Your HVAC Repairs or Installation
Draft Control HVAC is a highly trusted heating and air conditioning company servicing the East Ottawa region. Unlike other companies, we focus on our customers and their complete satisfaction, not on the brands that we sell. Whether you require installation, repair, or maintenance for your furnace, air conditioner, water heater, gas BBQ and fireplace, or boiler; you can trust Draft Control. Contact us today for all your heating and cooling needs.
“Selim came out to our place to quote a replacement air conditioner and hot water tank. He was honest, and did not try to sell us something we didn’t need. He answered all my questions promptly and honestly…From start to finish the entire process was seamless, he didn’t rush the job(s), and made sure everything was done properly. He certainly takes pride in his work, and hands down I would recommend him to anyone looking for HVAC work. Thanks Selim!” – Ryan M
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Great news, Draft Control now offers financing through EcoHome Financial. If you know that you need to a new air conditioner and furnace and want to replace HVAC system, but you weren’t sure how you were going to do it financially, we can help. Contact Draft Control to learn more.
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