OT: Uneven Heating... Recommendations?

[NHAero]

Yes.
That's why it's important to measure the air delivered to the room, and if it's not as expected, look for the reason. Often there is just a central return grille, or one on each level of the house, and if a room has the door closed the supply flow to that room drops as the room is pressurized by the air trying to find a path back to the return. If that is the problem, we often recommend installing some form of transfer grille. Here's one:
https://www.tamtech.com/product-cate...r-grilles-rap/

Originally Posted by zennmotion

I'm not an HVAC expert, but nobody has mentioned the role or importance of the return vents that allow circulation through the system. Forced air in but no escape makes for a very inefficient system with cold rooms. People often park furniture against or near the returns thinking that's no big deal since they're not "heating" vents. Make sure that the return vents 1) exist in the cold rooms and 2) are not blocked by furniture or dust bunnies. If they're old and gross with dust restricting airflow, vent covers are often more easily replaced than cleaned

[xeladragon]

Originally Posted by NHAero

Yes.
That's why it's important to measure the air delivered to the room, and if it's not as expected, look for the reason. Often there is just a central return grille, or one on each level of the house, and if a room has the door closed the supply flow to that room drops as the room is pressurized by the air trying to find a path back to the return. If that is the problem, we often recommend installing some form of transfer grille. Here's one:
https://www.tamtech.com/product-cate...r-grilles-rap/

My daughter's room has a return vent, but it's behind the door. So we mostly close the door at night (but not all the way), both to unblock the return vent and to minimize noise.

If there were a space heater that was guaranteed 100% to not be a potential fire hazard, I'd get one, but I don't think such a thing exists.

As for it being OK to close vents/registers for heating (but less so for A/C), I've never heard of that before. Is that true?

[Dave B]

While not terribly cheap, we use a Dyson heater/chiller/air filter fan. It can run at varying degrees, works quickly and you can track usage and filter life as well as air quality from your phone.

We have the tall one and it works pretty darn well, also has a remote.



https://www.dyson.com/purifiers/dyso...-overview.html

[Dave]

Originally Posted by xeladragon

If there were a space heater that was guaranteed 100% to not be a potential fire hazard, I'd get one, but I don't think such a thing exists.

As for it being OK to close vents/registers for heating (but less so for A/C), I've never heard of that before. Is that true?

My 91 year old mother in law who lives in my home wants a higher temp in the winter than we do, so she uses an electric heater at times. No problems after 7 years. Modern units will turn off if tipped over.

Most modern furnaces have a multi-speed fan with at least 3 speeds, so they use the higher speeds for A/C. I've got a top of the line Carrier with more speeds. It runs at a low speed for heating, but will ramp up the speed if the temperature is not increasing fast enough. Same for cooling, if the temperature is not decreasing fast enough, a higher speed is used.

Most of the fans in home furnaces have forward curved blades that are only good for low pressures. I can't see why closing off vents while cooling would cause any more problems, just because the fan is running at a higher speed. Fans and pumps follow affinity laws that govern the pressure and flow, relative to fan speed. Flow increases proportionally to the motor speed, pressure increases to the square of the speed and horsepower required increases to the cube of the speed.

[paredown]

Originally Posted by xeladragon

My daughter's room has a return vent, but it's behind the door. So we mostly close the door at night (but not all the way), both to unblock the return vent and to minimize noise.

If there were a space heater that was guaranteed 100% to not be a potential fire hazard, I'd get one, but I don't think such a thing exists.

As for it being OK to close vents/registers for heating (but less so for A/C), I've never heard of that before. Is that true?

We use those oil-filled heaters made by de Longhi for warming rooms (like the one my MIL stays in when she visits).

They are pretty effective, and quiet enough for a bedroom, since there are no fans. Also safe--we've had years of service with no problems.

I see they are sized now, and some come with remotes:
https://www.amazon.com/DeLonghi-TRD4...s%2C128&sr=8-5

[Hilltopperny]

My wife and I use an electric space heater on cold winter nights. There are no registers in the upstairs for forced hot air, but I insulated the crap out of the upstairs when I built it up. No issues with overheating or any potential fire hazards and it is just a cheaper model from Lowes.

Sent from my LGL423DL using Tapatalk

[GregL]

Have you considered an electric blanket for her bed? My daughter's room is (a) over our unheated garage and (b) heated by the longest duct from our furnace. Even with a booster fan in the duct, her room is always the coolest in our house. We bought her an electric blanket and she's been comfortably warm ever since.

Greg

[xeladragon]

Originally Posted by GregL

Have you considered an electric blanket for her bed? My daughter's room is (a) over our unheated garage and (b) heated by the longest duct from our furnace. Even with a booster fan in the duct, her room is always the coolest in our house. We bought her an electric blanket and she's been comfortably warm ever since.

Greg

My 2-yr old daughter hasn't figured out how to use a blanket yet. We tuck her in at bedtime, but the blanket is kicked off within an hour. This won't be a problem (we hope) as she gets older but... for now... can't rely on a blanket.

Also, I understand today's space heaters are pretty safe, have built-in safety features, etc. Still... if there's a 0.1% chance of a fire, that's a risk that's not worth taking IMO.

And I'm not sure if I have a single- or multi-stage furnace. I should figure that out.

[cderalow]

Originally Posted by xeladragon

Hmm... interesting. I think I can do that with Nest as well. I'll have to double check.

Nest does have the auto-run feature, its in the thermostat settings under fan schedule.

Originally Posted by xeladragon

My daughter's room has a return vent, but it's behind the door. So we mostly close the door at night (but not all the way), both to unblock the return vent and to minimize noise.

If there were a space heater that was guaranteed 100% to not be a potential fire hazard, I'd get one, but I don't think such a thing exists.

As for it being OK to close vents/registers for heating (but less so for A/C), I've never heard of that before. Is that true?

the Dyson Hot+Cool link doesn't get hot enough to start a fire, filters air.

I've got one in my 200sf bedroom and it works great when its cold.

[xeladragon]

Originally Posted by cderalow

Nest does have the auto-run feature, its in the thermostat settings under fan schedule.



the Dyson Hot+Cool link doesn't get hot enough to start a fire, filters air.

I've got one in my 200sf bedroom and it works great when its cold.

Yep, I enabled the fan last night. Not sure if it helped? Maybe? Still saw the same temp difference in the morning between my room and hers.

And I was just looking at the Dyson Hot+Cool online. Awfully expensive but... it's an option!

[Louis]

Originally Posted by xeladragon

My 2-yr old daughter hasn't figured out how to use a blanket yet. We tuck her in at bedtime, but the blanket is kicked off within an hour. This won't be a problem (we hope) as she gets older but... for now... can't rely on a blanket.

They also make "sleep on top of it" electric blankets. That type can't be kicked off because it's under the fitted sheet.

https://www.thesleepjudge.com/electr...under-or-over/

[xeladragon]

So I was at Costco the other day and they had a $100 instant rebate on the Dyson Hot+Cool heater thing that Dave B mentioned above. So I bought it. It has a night-time mode, so must be safe for running at night, right? Plus it doesn't get hot, won some Parent Tested Parent Approved (PTPA) award, etc. So far, so good. Definitely not the cheapest option, but not having to worry about my daughter being cold at night is worth the investment.