You may find that a reason one room is always colder is that it's leaking more than others. Check different common areas of your home to see if you can feel a draft: Around Windows: Inspect the areas around windows for drafts. Gaps or cracks in window frames and seals can allow cold air to enter and warm air to escape.
Check room temperature accurately with a smartphone by connecting to an external sensor or weather station. Use digital, glass, or bimetallic thermometers by placing them in the center of the room (at least 2 ft (0.61 m) high) and reading them after about 5 minutes.
You'll have to treat the room separately, with a split unit. An alternative solution would be to use a combination of mechanical cooling (exhaust fan), via cooler outdoor air, and a split unit, for warmer days.
If there is a cold room in your house, the problem has likely been caused by dirty vents, cracked ductwork, worn insulation or faint drafts.
Check the exterior caulking around doors and windows, and see whether exterior storm doors and primary doors seal tightly. Inspect windows and doors for air leaks. See if you can rattle them, since movement means possible air leaks. If you can see daylight around a door or window frame, then the door or window leaks.
Check Your Wall Insulation Level
Remove the outlet cover and shine a flashlight into the crack around the outlet box. You should be able to see if there is insulation in the wall and possibly how thick it is. Pull out a small amount of insulation if needed to help determine the type of insulation.
Some applications promise to turn your smartphone into a thermometer. However, user reviews show that their effectiveness is far from proven. The reason is simple: a smartphone does not have a built-in temperature sensor, so these applications use weather data based on the GPS position of the device.
Missing insulation allows either heat or cold to infiltrate, which shows as hot or cold spots on your walls or ceiling when viewed by a thermal camera. You can easily detect areas of missing insulation by walking around your house with a thermal imager and looking for temperature differences.
If your bedroom temperature is lower than 60° F, it's too cold.
Thermometer: The most common and accurate method is to use a thermometer specifically designed to measure room temperature. Digital thermometers or mercury thermometers are widely available and can provide precise readings.
How heat escapes from your home. If you're asking yourself Why is my house so cold even with the heating on? or Why is my house not staying warm?, the truth is that air leaks—along with insufficient insulation—cause heat to escape directly from your home.
Create cross ventilation by opening windows on opposite sides of the house to promote air circulation. Close curtains, blinds, or shades during the hottest parts of the day to block out direct sunlight and heat. Utilize exhaust fans in bathrooms and kitchens to remove hot air and humidity from these spaces.
Different rug materials are better at keeping rooms warm than others. High-pile textures, like our tufted or shaggy rugs, help your room feel warm as the long fibres feel soft and luxurious and trap heat. This can create a warmer feel underfoot and boost cosiness.
Candles are very soothing and the orange flickering glow of a candle's flame creates a sense of warmth to any space instantly. Candles will even add a tiny bit of warmth – they create light by making heat, so they may contribute to warming you up a bit, but you would need a lot of candles to heat a whole room.
If you're looking for an extremely accurate way of finding drafts in your house, using a wind meter is your best bet. This tool will measure how much air is flowing in or out of specific areas in your home.
Start by checking your attic, basement and crawl spaces for any cracks, gaps and openings where cold air may be coming through. You can also try a smoke test. On a windy day, shut all windows and doors, and turn off all appliances. Then hold a lit incense stick next to potential air leakage spots.
Locating the Reset Button
Remove the thermostat cover by either snapping it off or unscrewing it, depending on the model. Most modern thermostats will have a clearly marked reset button inside the panel. It's usually small and recessed, so you might need a pointed object like a paperclip to press it.
On average, an HVAC zoning system costs around $3,000 but can range between $1,500 and $8,500, depending on several factors, including the number of zones needed, whether you need to hire an AC installer, whether ductwork exists, and the type of thermostat installed.
If your thermostat is not reading correctly, it might be due to a dirty or faulty sensor. A quick fix could be to gently clean the sensor with canned air to remove any dust buildup. However, if problems persist, replacing the thermostat could be the next step.