Why Is My Room So Hot?

We know the feeling: no matter what temperature the rest of your home is, your bedroom always seems to be too hot. On a hot summer day, it’s not uncommon for your bedroom or another commonly-used room in your home to feel 10 degrees warmer than the rest of your home—and it’s not your imagination, either.

Why Is One Room So Much Hotter Than Others?

There are a number of reasons one room feels much hotter than others. In general, different temperatures can be attributed to your AC—either it isn’t properly interacting with the air around it or air isn’t being cooled effectively before it reaches the room in question.

Because air conditioning is such an important part of managing your home’s energy costs—especially in the summer—don’t overlook this problem. It’s more than just turning the air conditioning up higher. Instead, you need to find out what’s causing the problem and fix it.

Simple Fixes for Rebalancing Air Flow

This shift in temperature may also happen when one room is in a very sunny area of the home, or a room with poor window sealing. Is sealant is the culprit, consider installing:

Exterior roller blinds
Thermal drapes
Reflective window film
Roman fabric blinds – look for those with energy efficiency standards
Wood-slatted blinds
Drapes with a plastic backing

Any of these can help to keep cooled air from being impacted by the sun’s rays. If the windows aren’t in good shape, consider replacing them and you’ll likely see temperatures improve.

Normalizing Temperatures with a Programmable Thermostat

Sometimes, though, your indoor air just isn’t getting cool enough. In these situations, it’s possible your indoor air is heating up too much—and a programmable thermostat can help.

A smart thermostat allows for better monitoring in the individual areas of your home that you use. Smart thermostats like this link through Wi-Fi connectivity and share information with the main device. This turns on the air conditioner if one of the monitored rooms is just too hot.

We had them come out to do a heat adjustment and Manny noticed a gas smell that we had apparently gotten used to. A quick evaluation and he discovered a gas leak in our stove. Had he not spoken up and gone above and beyond, we could have been in danger. I’m so grateful he went above and beyond for us! Seriously some of the best service I could have ever asked for!
Lynn S.

Focusing Cooled Air on the Right Rooms

If your home’s air conditioner is working but still isn’t getting all rooms cool, that could be because there’s just too much square footage to cover. Replacing the air conditioner is one option—a newer model that’s larger and mower powerful could be a good fit. However, you can also regulate temperatures throughout the home to get a more even cool. To do that:

Close off air vents in rooms you do not use, such as spare bedrooms or dining rooms not in use. This pushes more air throughout the rest of the home.
Close off air vents in the basement. Basements tend to be 10 or more degrees cooler anyway. This will lower your AC costs, too.
Install air vents in the attic. This allows hot air trapped in the attic to escape, helping to minimize the push of heat into the home.

It’s also important to make sure your heating and air conditioner are maintained properly. This helps them to work at their very best on very hot or humid days.

Seal Off the Air Ducts

Though more labor-intensive, sealing off air ducts may offer significant benefits, especially if you’re struggling to get an even cool.

The ductwork throughout your home is the passageway that air flows. If there are gaps in it, the cooled air can escape, never really making it to those further-away rooms in your home. You may also benefit from:

Locating any holes or tears in the ductwork throughout the home
Improving insulation around the ductwork
Finding separated joints and repairing them

In each situation, your goal should be to spot problem areas that could be allowing air to escape and to close them. A technician can do this for you, allowing more conditioned air to make it to the home.

It’s not always your air conditioner that’s the problem. Your home may be working against your system. Yet, your technician can spot problems during an inspection and consultation to offer step-by-step solutions for repair.