How to efficiently heat split level house.

PANDA

TCG Elite Member
TCG Premium
Event Coordinator
May 24, 2007
38,011
8,519
Wisconsin Northwoods
I currently live in a split level house. The bottom level is partially below ground. The main level is ground level with my family room and kitchen, and also a room that is windows on 3 sides. Below the main level is a crawl space that is at the same level at the lower level but obviously sealed off from the rest of the house. The upstairs level is above ground and has my bedrooms and office. Thermostat is in the hall way between my main level and upstairs.

The upstairs is always warm, the main level is always cold, and the bottom level is just right. I set my Nest like a Jew at 65* but upstairs gets up to 72*. I have a electric baseboard heater in the room with windows on 3 sides on main level but it is way to expensive to run all the time. Anything I can do to heat this house more efficient? I was thinking about closing the vents upstairs but I am not sure if that would actually make my furnace work harder.

Discuss.
 

OffshoreDrilling

This is my safe space
TCG Sponsor
TCG Premium
HVAC Guy
Aug 28, 2007
39,149
50,300
Homer Glen
system needs to be balanced. You can attempt to do this yourself. There should be dampers in the trunks and or branches to adjust the amount of airflow to each area. work it out to where you like it, mark the position with a permanent marker. You'll have to change it seasonally (AC/Heat) to get more air upstairs in summer and less in winter.

i believe [MENTION=354]Primalzer[/MENTION] had issues last season and i pointed him this direction
 

EmersonHart13

TCG Elite Member
TCG Premium
Jul 18, 2007
54,215
22,341
Panda since you have a nest how long is your heat running during a 24 hour period total time wise? Just curious for comparison to me.

I will probably make a new thread about this so people can compare

IN, tag me
 

Attachments

  • House.jpg
    House.jpg
    61.9 KB · Views: 87

EmersonHart13

TCG Elite Member
TCG Premium
Jul 18, 2007
54,215
22,341
system needs to be balanced. You can attempt to do this yourself. There should be dampers in the trunks and or branches to adjust the amount of airflow to each area. work it out to where you like it, mark the position with a permanent marker. You'll have to change it seasonally (AC/Heat) to get more air upstairs in summer and less in winter.

i believe [MENTION=354]Primalzer[/MENTION] had issues last season and i pointed him this direction

all these products are just throwing a band aid on what the proper fix is (balancing)

He is right. I ALWAYS forget about this.
 

PANDA

TCG Elite Member
TCG Premium
Event Coordinator
May 24, 2007
38,011
8,519
Wisconsin Northwoods
system needs to be balanced. You can attempt to do this yourself. There should be dampers in the trunks and or branches to adjust the amount of airflow to each area. work it out to where you like it, mark the position with a permanent marker. You'll have to change it seasonally (AC/Heat) to get more air upstairs in summer and less in winter.

i believe [MENTION=354]Primalzer[/MENTION] had issues last season and i pointed him this direction

This is the good info I was looking for. Might have to look into this.
 

Primalzer

TCG Elite Member
Sep 14, 2006
25,259
61
This is the good info I was looking for. Might have to look into this.

Worked like a dream for me...before, I wasn't getting shit upstairs, damper was mostly closed, once I opened it up full, presto, tons of air upstairs. Also check the intakes...if the previous owner never cleaned them and/or had pets, they could be clogged up, choking the system down. Just had my vents cleaned, the vents themselves were a little dusty, but overall clear, the intakes were filled with dust balls and hair. My house heats up in half the time now, after the cleaning.
 

jason05gt

TCG Elite Member
Jan 17, 2007
15,307
7,195
Naperville
Insulation makes a big difference. My house has dampers and I tried to balance it out. The upstairs was always cold. My issue was the lack of insulation in my attic.

What I did was hire an energy auditor and he pointed out all of my leaks, lack of insulation, areas to deal, etc by using a blower door and FLIR. I ended up dealing all the pipes, boxes, etc with fire resistant great stuff and blew in 50 bags of cellulose. That made a huge difference in the winter and summer.
 
Old Thread: Hello . There have been no replies in this thread for 90 days.
Content in this thread may no longer be relevant. Consider starting a new thread to get fresh replies.

Thread Info