It’s common for Madison, WI, homes to experience HVAC issues during cold weather. Instead of keeping your living spaces warm and comfortable, you may experience a lack of warm air coming from your vents, reduced air pressure, drafts, or no air coming from your vents at all. Here are five common HVAC airflow problems that can occur in the winter and how you can resolve them with the help of our team at Southport Home Services.
1. Weak Airflow
It’s important that you have a steady and strong flow of warm air coming from your vents in the wintertime. If this airflow seems to be weaker than usual, there are several issues that may be the culprit. One relatively simple issue is a clogged or dirty air filter. There isn’t enough air flowing through the filter, so it isn’t coming out of your vents at a normal rate. Simply changing your filter should be all that’s needed to increase airflow.
If your ductwork has dampers in it, this can be a useful tool for directing the flow of conditioned air throughout your home. However, a section may be too closed off, resulting in weak airflow. Adjusting the dampers may fix the problem.
Leaks or damaged sections of ductwork may allow conditioned air to escape before it can make its way out of your vents. This would result in weak airflow.
Our team can check your blower fan and blower motor to see if they are functioning properly. If they are not, this would impede the appropriate flow of air through your ductwork and out through your vents.
It’s important that your ductwork is set up correctly for your home’s layout. If you have undersized ductwork, there may be sections of your home that aren’t receiving enough warm air in the winter. We can make modifications to your ductwork that can promote better airflow.
2. No Airflow at All
It’s common to experience some degree of airflow changes throughout the winter months because of dirty filters or damaged HVAC components. However, having no air coming from your vents at all is a major problem. This can even be a safety risk if the temperature outside is below freezing, and then your interior temperature starts to drop.
Listen to see if you hear your furnace attempting to start up. If you don’t hear anything and nothing seems to be engaging despite turning down the temperature on your thermostat, you are likely experiencing a catastrophic failure of your HVAC equipment. This can be caused by broken electrical connections, a tripped circuit breaker, a broken capacitor, or a faulty thermostat. We can diagnose this problem to determine what area of your HVAC system is causing the problem and make appropriate heating repairs. In some extreme cases, replacing your furnace may be necessary.
3. Cold Air Coming From Vents
You may notice that your furnace seems to be turning on, but the air coming from your vents is cold. There may be a pressure imbalance in your home. This occurs when the pressure inside your home is lower than the pressure outside. This results in air from the outside trying to make its way indoors. Cold air may be moving into your HVAC system and out through your vents.
It may sound silly, but make sure that your thermostat is set to its heat function. If it’s early in the winter, you may not have made the switch from AC to heat yet.
If you are using a heat pump to heat your home, there may be a leak in the refrigerant lines that is preventing your equipment from working properly.
4. Odd Smells Coming From Vents
When you first turn your furnace on to prepare for winter, you may notice that the air coming out of your vents has a slightly dusty smell. This is completely normal and should dissipate after a few minutes. This is caused by dust and debris that has accumulated on the interior components of your heating components during their downtime.
If you notice that there is a strong smell of smoke or something burning coming from your vents, turn your equipment off immediately and call us for assistance. There may be debris in the system that is catching fire, you may have broken electrical connections, or you may have malfunctioning interior components.
5. Inconsistent Temperatures
Some of the rooms in your home may feel comfortable, while others may feel abnormally warm or cold. Inconsistent temperatures in your home can be caused by a few issues. Check all the vents and registers in your home to ensure they are all fully open. A disruption in airflow can cause temperature discrepancies.
Damage to your ductwork may be to blame in this case as well. As air escapes your ducts before it reaches your rooms, you will be left with cool air blowing. Very warm air can be the result of a malfunctioning temperature regulator or temperature control valve. We can check these components to ensure they are working properly.
Poor insulation may also be to blame. We recommend that you insulate your ductwork so that the air produced by your furnace will remain warm as it moves through your home and out your vents.
You should check your dampers in this scenario as well. Making slight adjustments can allow for more consistent temperatures throughout your home throughout the winter months. Some areas closest to your furnace may feel warmer. You can adjust the ductwork in these areas to be slightly more closed off than others. Cold areas of the home should be adjusted so that the dampers allow optimal air to flow through. Just make sure that you don’t completely close off any sections of your ductwork. You need to maintain some degree of airflow to protect your HVAC equipment as well as the comfort of your home.
The design of your ductwork may be to blame. It’s ideal that your furnace is centrally located in the home, with various branches of ductwork spreading in different directions to your living spaces. It’s not uncommon for ductwork to be installed incorrectly, leading to fluctuations in temperature. There are changes that can be made to your ductwork, depending on how accessible the ducting is.
We also encourage checking any flexible tube that you have as part of your HVAC setup. There may be kinks in this tubing or small cracks or gaps that could be allowing conditioned air to escape.
If you would like professional assistance with identifying and resolving common HVAC airflow problems that occur during cold weather, reach out to our team at Southport Home Services. Serving the Madison area, we also offer heating services like installation, repair, and maintenance, as well as serving all your air conditioning needs. Our plumbing services include pipe repair, drain cleaning, water heater service, gas lines, sump pumps, remodels, and more. We also offer commercial services.
Contact us at Southport Home Services for HVAC assistance in Madison today.