Your heating company may be able to give you a free energy audit - call and ask if they do that. Find out what year your place was built, and how much and what kind of insulation is in your walls. (this is good for both heat and cold - in the winter, a well insulated wall should keep the heat in, and in the summer, a well insulated wall should keep the a/c cool air in) What kind of flooring do you have, and what's under it? Is it insulated? Are there drafts? I went to an energy talk years ago at Cornell Cooperative Extension, and they said even the electrical outlets can leak air. There are small insulated foam pieces that fit right in your outlets. Leaks can be anywhere. Under my kitchen sink, there's a huge hole where the pipes are, that lets in some lovely cold air in the winter. The walls, doors, floors, ceilings, a/c vents, plumbing, electric, etc. can leak cold air. In the winter, I could run my hand all the way down my front door, and felt where the cold air was coming in. I put weather striping there. Have a pro insulate if you don't know how to do it. Read up on it, but make safety your first priority.

If you are heating this room with a space heater, that's money that's better spent on better insulation, if that's the problem. Is it possible to have a fan in the rooms that are overly warm? Would that help distribute the warm air evenly?

Elaine - Thanks for your response. Yes, I had my local energy company do an energy audit. The unit is only 10 years old and they found good insulation. There were drafts around the door to the garage and I had that fixed; I also put a storm door on the front. The biggest energy loss they found was heat coming in during the summer through the attic - lots of gaps around pipes, etc. to the second floor. That was going to be almost $3000 to fix and they only guaranteed a return of $250 a year in reduction of a/c costs so that didn't seem worth it. I've been thinking of solar panels to reduce electric bill but shading from trees will become a problem in about 5 years so I'm not sure that is cost effective either.

If there is heat coming in the summer, is there also cold coming in the winter?

If so, that $3000 fix may be worth the investment. Where do you live? Did you get estimates from several companies and referrals from personal/work people/neighbors people in your life? How about a heat pump?

Do you have gas in you home?

Ceiling fans with and as overhead lights can help redistribute heat.

If electric heat would interest you, There are self contained H/AC units that can be built into the exterior wall, usually beneath a window.

My mom has one of these in her suite in an assisted living facility. It works really well; however, since her electricity is a part of her rent, I don't know how much it costs to run:

https://www.google.com/search?q=modern+heat+and+ac+wall+unit+for+small+apartment&source=univ&tbm=shop&tbo=u&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiXgLP6vOvbAhUKq1kKHRpOBH0QsxgIJg&biw=1366&bih=628#spd=10545147589810157657&spf=1529815000497

ceh4041,

You basically have a conundrum many home owners face with the way their HVAC system was designed to accommodate the structure.

If you were going to the theatre to watch this movie a likely title would be 'thermostat wars'.

Simple reason your system lacks the controls and configuration to be 'comfortable'.

A lot of homes these days are sold around pleasing looks and comfort means different things to different people, so often times the builder will cut corners.

A two story home should have 2 separate systems. Because the upstairs will always be warmer in the summer as well as the winter because heat rises.

Are there air returns on the upper floor? If not this compounds the problem as heat rises and gets trapped with no where to go.

If your HVAC system uses natural gas as a heating fuel and you have ample room where the HVAC system was installed one option would be to install what is called a HVAC zone system.

This will give you better control of your system, but HVAC zone systems are complicated and in today's world where skill and craftsmanship are dirty words an HVAC zone system many times only make matters worse.

If you could find someone that could give you an honest answer in regards to zone system that would be the best viable method if the system is gas and you have ample room to pull it off and of course find someone knowledgeable enough to not only design the zone system but also install it.

The other option is mini split. The problem here is that you will need exterior accessible wall space to hang the indoor head from and because you're adding another system your maintenance and ultimately repair and replacement costs are higher... and the mini split will only address the comfort complaints of this one spot with in the structure.

If neither of these appeal to you, the space heater is really your only option.

My friend added an electric fireplace to her living room and reduced her heating bill a lot by using it to supplement the HVAC system. It is attractive and her house is quite comfortable in winter. She has a huge picture window that lets in lots of cold air but it is not noticeable with the FP working. She got it for under $300 at a closeout sale I believe.

Ventless gas heaters are generally prohibited in bedrooms.

You may want to have the ductwork/airflow checked as you may not be getting adequate flow to the bedroom. Failing that, a zoned upgrade but they tend to be expensive and problematic (because most dealers don't know how to do it properly). I would look into getting the attic better sealed - $3000 seems unusually high.

Consider an electric fireplace that can also provide heat. At least they are attractive.

"A two story home should have 2 separate systems. "

This is a townhouse, likely 1500 sq feet +/- from looking at the floorplans. I've never heard of one of that size with two systems. Have you, Austin?

If this is a condo development, there may be limits (another way of saying prohibitions) on what changes can be made to outside appearances, which could nuke many of the suggestions made.

Have you tried tayloring the airflow from the air vents in all rooms?

CLOSE the vent entirely in the master closet , open the bedroom one all the way. Close the vents upstairs entirely (keeping in mind bathroom plumbing, you don't want to let anything freeze). Remember, vents can be partially open, they don't need to be total open or closed...

you said you have a full unfinished basement? have an HVAC company change the duct work to better heat the master bedroom. here in Denver, there is a company that always advertises that they can "fine tune" the heating cooling of an entire house. They do this by changing or adjusting the ductwork.

i have a townhouse that has a vaulted livingroom open to a loft, then two bedrooms behind that. i have the downstairs vents nearly closed ALL the time. What heat comes out downstairs, goes upstairs anyway, So i limit what heat comes out down stairs. Also, the 2nd bedroom isn't used, so i have that closed too.

Also, have the ductwork cleaned. You may find that some of the ducts are clogged with construction debris. My parents lived in house for decades and ALWAYS complained about a cold bedroom. Turns out it got very little heat EVER, because of the debris in the duct...

I suggest you close all vents, then crank up the heat. go around and see which vents have the best airflow when opened. Then open or close as needed

"A two story home should have 2 separate systems. "

This is a townhouse, likely 1500 sq feet +/- from looking at the floorplans. I've never heard of one with two systems. Have you, Austin?

Elmer, not all townhouses are 1500 sq feet. So when I say what I say you are taking it out of context for what I mean by it. Meaning you are going to have problems controlling comfortable temps in a 2 story structure with one thermostat.

This is regardless as to the size of the structure. Townhomes come in all different sizes. If I don't describe the situation as I have described it the home owner or townhome owner is under the illusion something is wrong with the system when it is really a 'system design' limitation.

I don't build townhomes, nor do I build homes. While the structure often limits what I can do to correct foolishness of what architects design this doesn't change the control options of the system does it?

At the end of the day, heat still rises and cooling still falls... the thermostat reads in an area of 10 or so square feet around it. If you have a thermostat on upper level it's warmer up there. If you have the thermostat on lower level it's cooler down there.

If you want the upper level cooler, the system runs more and the lower level will be colder. This scenario does not change if you move the thermostat, except for the setting in which it's placed at.

A structure does not defeat me and what I do, it only limits the options I can present as solutions.

Was that a yes or a no answer to my question about what you had seen with townhouses?

"CLOSE the vent entirely in the master closet , open the bedroom one all the way. Close the vents upstairs entirely (keeping in mind bathroom plumbing, you don't want to let anything freeze). Remember, vents can be partially open, they don't need to be total open or closed."

The problem with controlling airflow at the registers is noise. As soon as you start resticting airflow you get wind noise/whistling and drafts. That's why its better to do it at the dampers in the ductwork, closer to the air handler and farther away from the registers.

Elmer: townhome myth to reality

In what way is your bedroom too cold? Too cold for sleeping? To cold for working at a desk, etc? We happen to like a colder bedroom, but a very warm bathroom. I have extra heat in the master bath and leave the door to the BR from the MBa open.

For shorter term - I would look at an electric fireplace that adds heat, as others suggested. I also have an oil heater for my office at work - which is soooo cold in winter and the high ceilings do not help as all the warm air goes up - that is quiet and works brilliantly. It has an auto timer, shut off etc. Longer term, spending the money to really better the overall envelope - insulation, spray insulation around pipes, etc will likely be a sound investment. It may “only” save $250 a year (but if this is your forever home that adds up) but your comfort is worth something more than that!

Haha, you're in the real estate business too? I don't know the why or what for you posted this listing, but there's no need to waste time looking at what your hard internet searches found.

My question was, have YOU seen a townhouse, and specifically one of sub-2000 sq feet size, with two systems? I doubt it and brought it up because your comment seemed another example of your missing the gist of a question and blowing smoke.

Elmer, just a step ahead of you and your line of questioning. If I just told you yes would this line of questioning stop right there? My experience on this board says otherwise. I posted it to prove it to you that it exists.

'Blessed are those that have not seen, but believe anyway.'

The search took me all of 5 seconds, because I have served this market for nearly 19 years now. I knew down to the zip code of where to look, because as you put it 'have I seen it?'

But I know, simply a yes would never suffice to you, primarily because your goal as well as others here is to discredit me anyway you can.

I drop this information in your lap and look what you do... you chastise me with it.

Your original pestering question:

That place is described as nearly 3000 sq feet so I'll take your answer to be No, you haven't seen one in the 1500 or smaller size with two systems.

I found two local contractors who do what they can "attic air leak" correction. Will get estimates to compare with initial estimate from the local energy provider contractor. Several of you make good case for getting that done since this is "forever" home. For the too-cold master bedroom, I plan to start researching best efficient space heater - that seems easiest solution for a location that I would like comfortable in the day time while I work at my desk. I don't mind the bedroom being colder at night so hopefully I can get by with just a couple hours a day of the space heater. I ran the idea of split informally by the architecture review committee of my HOA and got a "probably not." The HOA is responsible for maintenance of the siding on our townhouse units and they don't want any modifications that affects siding. Again, thanks for all the advise. I really appreciate it.