Owner’s having problems heating two-story home
Q: We live in a four-bedroom, two-story colonial. Our heater is in the attic above the second floor. This, I think presents two problems.
We have two-zone heating/ cooling with the master on the first floor and the second on the second floor. We have a wide-open foyer.
No matter what I do, in the winter there is always a noticeable temperature differential between the upstairs and the downstairs. I set the downstairs temp at 66 at night to come on early in the morning to 72.
When it finally reaches 72, the upstairs is about 75! Second, I notice the snow on my roof melts faster than any of my neighbors in the development with similar construction but whose heaters are in the basement.
The gas company installed (everything). They told me because the way my house is built with a wide-open foyer there is nothing we can do about problem No. 1, but I’m wondering if there is anything I can do about problem No. 2, since I suspect I am losing a lot of heat from the heater.
A: It sounds like you definitely have a couple of different things going on here that are working against you when it comes to heating your house efficiently.
First of all, the warm air inside your home wants to rise because it’s less dense than the surrounding cold air. This is known as stack effect. The taller your house is — for example, a two-story house with an open foyer — the more pronounced this stack effect can be.
The second thing you mention is that your furnace is in the attic. So now you have a warm furnace in one of the coldest, highest spots in the house, so the natural effect is that at least some of the heat being generated by the furnace is going to be lost into the attic.
From there, it’s going to warm the underside of your roof and, as you describe, melt off your snow faster then that of your neighbors who don’t have a similar arrangement. So not only are you losing heat that you’re paying for, in a cold winter with a lot of snow, you’re also increasing your chances of ice damming.
I assume you don’t want to go through the trouble and expense of relocating the furnace, which probably wouldn’t be a great idea anyway, since the energy savings you’d generate from that probably wouldn’t offset the initial cost. So instead, let’s look at some things you could potentially do to help the situation:
Insulate the furnace and duct work
First and foremost, you want to be sure that you’re minimizing the loss of heat into the attic. Make sure that all the duct work in the attic is sealed and heavily insulated. Also make sure that plenums and other components of the furnace are as well insulated as possible. You’ll need to talk with a furnace technician or an insulation contractor for this, to be sure that you don’t do anything that could potentially harm the furnace itself.
Insulate the attic
Make sure the levels of insulation in the attic are at or preferably above what the current building codes call for, to minimize heat loss from the house itself.
Seal exterior penetrations
The more holes there are from the outside that allow cold air to enter your home, the greater the stack effect will be. Check the caulking around windows and doors, and check all of your weatherstripping. Seal up any spots that allow cold, dense air to enter and push the warmer, lighter air up.
Install a paddle fan
A paddle fan installed in the ceiling of your foyer can help stir up the hot air that’s settling up there and push it back down where it can do some good. Other fans in other upstairs areas may help, as well.
See if your gas company has an energy analyst available who can come out and discuss these and other measures with you on-site, and make specific recommendations.
Have a home repair or remodeling question for Paul? He can be reached by email at improvingyourhome@ykwc.net.
First and foremost, you want to be sure that you’re minimizing the loss of heat into the attic. Make sure that all the duct work in the attic is sealed and heavily insulated.