[teknoprep]

I have a 3-year old, newly built 4,000 sq ft house with 2 Trane HVAC systems - one for each level. Live in Texas, but have both an AC & Furnace. I've been told by several different HVAC companies that I have a very good setup.

No matter what I do, I can't get a consistent temperature in all rooms. Especially when a bedroom door is closed, it can vary +/- 6 degrees from the rest of the house, in winter or summer. To make matters worse, I have a lofted living room that is open to most of the upstairs - so it will often get much hotter upstairs than downstairs - even with 2 systems.

I've had certified techs rebalance the dampers, open/close air vents, but apparently this is just normal. Unless all the doors are open, they say you're never going to get a consistant temp throughout the house. And the upstairs main area temp difference is because of the open-concept loft design.

So I've got two questions:

• Is there anything I can do, without spending a ton of money on zoning, to make a consistent temp across the house?
• For a future house build, is there such a thing as "Zones for Every Room"? Meaning the system opens/closes dampers to make every room the exact same temp?

Thanks!

 

[surferdude2]

Undercutting the door bottoms will help if the rooms don't have full delivery/return ducting. As for the open area upstairs, you can minimize the problem with ceiling fans or equal but it's always going to be a little warmer up there.

SD2

 

[teknoprep]

Undercutting the door bottoms will help if the rooms don't have full delivery/return ducting. As for the open area upstairs, you can minimize the problem with ceiling fans or equal but it's always going to be a little warmer up there.

SD2

Thank you!

Every room in the house has delivery & return ducting. Also, each room has ceiling fans. But agree, upstairs main area is hotter because of the lofted ceilings. Upstairs bedrooms get very cold when doors are shut because thermostat is in main area - so the heater almost never runs upstairs.

If we force heater on, main upstairs gets SUPER hot, and bedrooms are normal.

 

[surferdude2]

That'll be a hard nut to crack without setting up a zone control damper system with additional thermostat/thermostats. You should discuss that with your hvac contractor. I can envision moving the thermostat to one of the rooms and adding a damper for the big area registers that minimizes delivery to that area when a door switch or time clock activates it. That all sounds good but it must be in agreement with the minimum air flow allowed by the system manufacturer to avoid damage to the unit.

Any good HVAC company should be able to get that problem minimized to a point that it's livable. Time for a pow-wow with your contractor.

SD2

 

[Missouri Bound]

Your system should have a mode to run the fan(s) at a circulation rate, not full fan on.
When I had my system replaced a few years ago, the system had a fan on rate that was just that. Every room stays the same temperature now. It is something for you to consider.

 

[teknoprep]

Your system should have a mode to run the fan(s) at a circulation rate, not full fan on.
When I had my system replaced a few years ago, the system had a fan on rate that was just that. Every room stays the same temperature now. It is something for you to consider.

Great idea! My system has a Circulate option that runs the fan 35% of the time. I’ll try that!

Just curious - will that add any high electric/gas costs? Guessing the fan doesn’t use that much power, but will there be any unexpected $$?

 

[Missouri Bound]

Great idea! My system has a Circulate option that runs the fan 35% of the time. I’ll try that!

Just curious - will that add any high electric/gas costs? Guessing the fan doesn’t use that much power, but will there be any unexpected $$?

Very little. Your fan motor is most likely DC. And by running the fan your systems will most likely run less. As long as your thermostats are in the right place you should see no significant change in your bill.
It's all good.

 

[surferdude2]

Hey, That's even better than ceiling fans! I hope that works out for you.

SD2

 

[Old Thomas]

If you figure it out you can get a Nobel prize.

 

[Bud9051]

You asked about a future house build and that is where your desire for uniform temperatures starts.
Air leakage, insulation, windows, exterior walls, solar exposure, prevailing winds, along with the hvac set up all affect individual room temperatures. Zoning can help but never going to be perfect unless each room is its own zone and even then (like the high ceiling) there will be issues.

With super insulation using electric heat becomes an easy addition as it adds little operating cost, is less expensive to install, and can be controlled in each location.

From ground up you can get very close to what you describe.

Bud

 

[sktn77a]

If the rooms all have supply and return registers then the problem is with your ductwork. The quality of HVAC installations today is generally appalling. Proper design requires an understanding of heat gain/loss from each room and ducting to accommodate this. I can almost guarantee this wasn't done with your house. Sure large lofts can be difficult to heat/cool but your bedrooms shouldn't bet more that 1-2 degrees different - that's the industry standard.

 

[SeniorSitizen]

• For a future house build, is there such a thing as "Zones for Every Room"? Meaning the system opens/closes dampers to make every room the exact same temp?

Thanks!

A single story house with PVC ducts under concrete floor without individual returns will be the simplest least expensive way and you can have room temp. differential within approx. 1°F.

 

[teknoprep]

Quick update - after setting the fan to circulate my downstairs is pretty even (+/- 2 degrees in every room).

Upstairs is improved (temp set to 72, its 75 in main area because it’s open to first floor, 68 degrees in bedrooms when doors are closed).

So not perfect, but definitely better. Not sure what summer will bring with AC.

Thank you!

 

[SeniorSitizen]

With doors needing to be closed, summer may spark the idea of mini-split heat pump units for each room up stairs for precise temperature adjustments.

 

[coolair111]

The upper story is always warmer as the warm air rise above and accumulate in the upper storey. You should install ductless HVAC systems in the future for customized cooling and heating. you can use these for cooling as well as heating.