House is ALWAYS cold

[mystic96]

Katrina and I just moved into this place about 2 weeks ago now, and it's freezing in here all the time. Now I realize it's like 35* outside right now and been below 20* at night, but the house won't ever get warm in the main rooms.

I'll set the thermostat at 70* throughout the day and the furnace is running constantly throughout the day to keep up, and the living room, kitchen, and master are never warm. Katrina will come home and crank the thermostat up to 78* and it never shows the temp inside to be any higher than 72* and we're still wrapping up in blankets and sweats and socks to be able to sit on the couch and watch tv.

She wants to have someone come out and check the doors and windows for drafts, check the attic if there's enough insulation, make sure the furnace is functioning properly, etc. Who would I need to have come look at that for us?

Katrina was suggesting we replace the windows with new ones, probably not a bad idea since these are nearly 30 years old, but I'm not convinced that'll solve all the problems we're having.

The HVAC unit has supposedly been updated or replaced recently according to the people we bought the house from, and during the home inspection the inspector said it looked in good shape. I think the filters are needing to be replaced but I wouldn't think that's the cause for the house being so cold all the time.

[talisman]

Have you checked the filter? Sounds like it might be clogged with shit.

[Silverback]

I don't run our thermostat over 73-74 when it's this cold out, and at night we have to lower it to 71-72 or it's far too hot in the bedrooms with no returns.

I'd have a HVAC person come out and see how much air flow you're getting out of the vents, and the temperature of the air from the vents.

I've been thinking about having a leak test done on my house as well, as I feel a lot of drafts around windows/doors when it's cold

[fordracing19]

Seal it up tight and insulate it well. Then address the hvac issues.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2

[mystic96]

The 4 entry doors seem to have a nice seal on them, but it does "feel" a bit colder by the windows, I'd think that's normal as there isn't anything insulating the house from the outside except a pane of glass.

I'm sitting inside right now with the thermostat on 68* and the system seems to finally have gotten to where it's not on full time anymore (fans off, hvac system isn't pumping).

I'm about to climb up into the attic and check the filter and get a look at the insulation

[Rick Modena]

Filters are probably clogged. I use the 3-M reds and change about once every three months. I would also recommend that you invest in a ceramic space heater for the bedrooms and keep the heat about 68* this will help keep you heating costs way down. High ceiling houses are a must as the heat rises and the heating unit will run non-stop during the winter.

[Sean88gt]

Foil on the windows, silicone that shit in there.

[bcoop]

When was the house built? And furnace or heat pump? Single pane windows SUCK, just FYI.

[Sean88gt]

When was the house built? And furnace or heat pump? Single pane windows SUCK, just FYI.

Age as well. We have double panes (house is 14 years old +/-) and you can feel the cool air coming in.

[AdamLX]

High ceiling houses are a must as the heat rises and the heating unit will run non-stop during the winter.

And with this, don't forget to reverse your fan rotation in the winter so it pulls the cooler air back up to the ceiling where it's warmer. I notice a difference when I do this, especially in my bedroom.

[mystic96]

When was the house built? And furnace or heat pump? Single pane windows SUCK, just FYI.

Built in '85. I'm pretty sure the windows are original to the house...they look like the ones in my parents old house they bought new in '85.

As far as furnace vs. heat pump...I guess I don't know to be honest. I've always just called it a furnace since that's what I've always heard the heater called. The diverter is up in the attic and the compressor is outside on the side of the house.

I have no clue where the filter would be either. I remember in my parents old house the fliters were behind grates in the ceiling, one on either side of the house. This house has nothing like that at all, and the only bit of equipment in the attic that I can see has no spot to put a filter that I can tell. Though there are some used filters sitting up there so I'm sure that's where it goes I just can't see how to get into it to replace them.

[Silverback]

look at where the duct work runs from the furnace, then look on the opposite side, that's where the filter should be

return -> filter -> furnace -> ducts

[Tyrone Biggums]

Sounds like you may have an Aprilaire Space-Gard system. Evidently they were quite popular in the mid 80's. Check this link and see if yours looks like this.

http://homerepair.about.com/od/heatingcoolingrepair/ss/filter_aprilair.htm

[Chili]

Sounds like you may have an Aprilaire Space-Gard system. Evidently they were quite popular in the mid 80's. Check this link and see if yours looks like this.

http://homerepair.about.com/od/heati...r_aprilair.htm

I have one of those (installed in 2004) and I'm not a big fan. Mainly because you cannot find the filters locally, at least with the same abundance as the standard filters. Plus they can get pretty pricey.

I have a natural gas furnace in a closet, and the filter assembly is on the bottom.

[mystic96]

Sounds like you may have an Aprilaire Space-Gard system. Evidently they were quite popular in the mid 80's. Check this link and see if yours looks like this.

http://homerepair.about.com/od/heati...r_aprilair.htm

doesnt look like anything like we have up in the attic. ive got a pic but photobucket wasnt working to upload it and post it