I'm Clueless... Can you help?

17 years ago

I'm sorry I really have no idea what type of furnace we have or really anything about heating and air conditioning. I only know that our furnace is new, we just installed a new furnace/AC last spring. I am very frustrated with the situation that we have in our current home.

Its a Tri-Level. There were two additions added to the home by the previous owners, a bedroom and a small living area off the back of the house. They did not run duct work or heating to either of these rooms and the heating and air conditioning professional told us that he suspects that is where we are losing our heat/air. The previous owners had installed a small heater that is built into the wall in the bedroom.

The PROBLEM is we cannot heat the majority of the home to a comfortable temperature without roasting our kids in the upstairs bedrooms. We have two small electric heaters going at all times. That doesn't seem to help. We also have most of the vents closed upstairs.

I'm really trying to "Love The House I'm In" but this issue is making that very difficult.

Any Suggestions? Thanks so much.

Jen

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

bob_brown
17 years ago
Hello,
Sometimes individual heaters in each room is the best you can do for the money spent. Use bigger or smaller heaters if money is an issue. With this said, designing a quality duct system after the house is built is sometimes very expensive. Get several HVAC guys to look at your house and make recommendations. Local fuel costs should be considered, when making your choices. In my area forced air is 99.9% of what is found. A few new homes are using radiant heat, but the count can almost be made on one hand. This is for a major metropolis. Designing a single source forced air system that effectively works on multiple floors is almost impossible. When I find a home that is comfortable all over, it usually has multiple systems, one for each floor. I discussed a 5 unit cascaded system with an owner a couple of years ago. The main unit always ran, and the various other units ran upon demand. The owner was the local rep for Waterfurnace. (Geothermal) Designing a cascaded system is unique. To retrofit a cascaded system, would be difficult.

Mini Split systems can be used where ducts cannot be concealed. A minisplit multiple outlet system is more expensive to install, but will have the economics of a single source system. The problem with mini split systems, is they are not so common. Finding an installer in my area that has knowledge of this technology would be difficult.

In the past, many retrofit installations would use a large chase in the corner of a room to run duct thru floors. A solution was developed, using high velocity mini ducts. The technology also allows for single system economies. Once again the typical tech will not have specific knowledge about this technology.

Sometimes the best is the most simple. Use individual units in the affected rooms. Either put the unit in a wall, or in the window. Once again this depends on the price of electricity to fuel costs.
pjb999
17 years ago
Jen, on your furnace, or thermostat, there should be an option to choose "fan on" rather than "fan auto." Assuming your system is set to "fan auto" which seems to be the default for most homes/systems, the furnace fan runs only when the furnace is heating.

I suggest you select "fan run" which will mean the furnace fan will run continuously....there is no harm in this, and the fan generally won't draw a lot of current. What it will do, however, is help even out the temperature throughout the house, through better air circulation....this may not be the whole solution, but it may help. You may be able to open up the upstairs registers this way.
Related Discussions
Please Help With Choosing Floors! I'm clueless!
Q
Comments (1)
Hi, Pam. If you haven't already, try posting this question on the Discussions side. You'll get more answers.
...See More
I'm clueless -- can you help with quote?
Q
Comments (2)
As long as the indoor coil is changed to match whatever A/C you choose, you can keep the existing gas furnaces. And it might be a wise move to consider dual fuel. In many areas, especially a mild climate like yours, the payback is fast - especially with the big rebate. Spending $1000 to go from 13 SEER to 14 SEER probably won't pay back. And it would take a new variable speed indoor unit to get 15/16 SEER and the tax credit.
...See More
Inherited roses - but I'm clueless! Help!
Q
Comments (8)
Yes, I agree that the first two are roses, and the last two are not. What I would do first is weed out EVERYTHING within, say 25 inches of the base of each rose. The first picture appears to be a rose about to be strangled by bind weed! Take that viny thing out, along with anything else growing there, including grass. Then put down mulch on the now bare dirt in the area you weeded. Sprinkle on some Preen, or similar "pre emergent" product over the area where you put the mulch (it is a chemical which will not hurt growing plants, but prevents seeds (like weed seeds) from germinating. Then in your area, I think you need to WAIT until "all danger of frost has passed". After that in the Spring you can prune what appear to me to be hybrid tea roses. Cut off any dead canes or part of canes. If there are dead "stumps" of old canes at the bottom (where someone was too lazy to take the canes off all the way down - I see this a LOT), take a pruning saw and cut them off level with the top edge of the bottom round lumpy thing the canes are coming out of, which is called the bud union - on grafted roses it is where the top scion rose is grafted to the bottom root rose. Then, you are supposed to take out any diseased canes or part of canes, and "open up" the rose by cutting out any canes which are going cross wise and rubbing on other canes. You want to end up with a bunch of canes which are sort of spread out like a 3 dimensional fan. On the canes, there will be little bumps called "bud eyes". This is where new growth will come when you cut the cane. So, make sure your cuts are above bud eyes which are pointing towards the OUTSIDE of the bush, not the inside. You do not want new canes to grow towards the inside of the bush. Do not take off more than a total of 1/3rd of the live growth. Don't worry about how to do it exactly - roses are very forgiving. Then get some rose food and feed it following the directions, and stand back. It would also be helpful to locate your local Rose Society and attend a meeting. Rose people are very friendly, and will be happy to give you advice. Jackie
...See More
Help designing my balcony please! I’m clueless.
Q
Comments (10)
I would be willing to bet that the original intention is not to plant directly into the planter but set pots in it such that they are hidden. However, there is now a mishmash of many pot sizes, with some of them being large and exposed. Seeing the pots detracts from the overall picture. The goal would be to adjust the elevation of whatever holds the pots such that they don't show, and that whatever is growing in them finishes concealing them. This should not really be hard to do. I would not think that the goal is to hide the background fence, but to merely conceal its lower portion (to no more than half its height) and attaching mechanism. Therefore, I'd be looking for something fairly low and bushy, spreading, possibly draping. But what's chosen will depend a lot on climate and conditions. I don't know, Nicole, why you wouldn't be able to do this on your own. It's a matter of just buying some durable plants and dropping their pots into the slot. You would probably need to re-pot them first into slightly larger containers so their roots have some growing room. And then just water and fertilize them.
...See More
airsome
17 years ago
I understand your frustration. It appears you have a rough road ahead.
Tri-levels are problematic: The heat or cold doesn't stay put; it moves to other levels. One-room additions add to this problem. To build them without consideration for htg/ac only makes things worse.
You will have to talk to several contractors and take notes.
If you take any short-cuts you will be unhappy.
Please see this post: Ops about spider, Fri Feb 16.
actech180
17 years ago
I agree with pbj999. One of the most simple ways to help your situation is to set the fan switch to the "on" position as opposed to the "auto" position. This really helped me when I was living in a two story house. The upstair was regularly 7 or more degrees hotter than the downstairs. Running the fan continuously helped alot. I would also recommend intstalling ceiling fans in the additions and running them in reverse in order to draw the warm air from the other parts of the house into that area. I hope this helps you. :)
airsome
17 years ago
Some bad news: If you live in a humid climate, running the fan continuously will cause problems with mold. We try tell our customers here in Georgia not to do this.
It seems "obvious" that more air flow will dry things out. In fact, the opposite is true.
When the AC runs, moisture condenses on the evaporator coil in your house. When it stops, the water gradually drips into a drain pan, then runs out through a pvc drain line. But if the fan stays on, the condensed water on the coil is re-evaporated into the air, then readily recondenses in other areas of your house. Some of it condenses on/in your drywall and stays there. Some of it condenses in your ductwork. Mold grows and gets blown around, then collects in other moist areas, such as the drywall, the edges of the refrigerator door, the sink drains, the shower.
actech180
17 years ago
I appreciate your insight. Im used to the California climate, and here that is not a problem. I appreciate that information.
airsome
17 years ago
Alright, California! Keep on.

I'm Clueless... Can you help?

Comments (7)

bob_brown

pjb999

Related Discussions

airsome

actech180

airsome

actech180

airsome

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US