Learning how to fix a hot room in a house is one of the most valuable skills you can take on as a homeowner. If you’ve ever wondered why that one room in your home is so hotter than the rest, this article is for you. We’ll review the basics of getting your room temperature up to scratch, including red flags to look out for and applicable solutions that you can try today!

 

How to fix a hot room in your house

Fixing the hot room in your home often goes beyond adjusting the air conditioning system. Some simple tricks you can apply now include checking the room’s air vents, setting up insulated shades around the windows, or adding ceiling fans for better air circulation.

Perhaps you have an air conditioner or HVAC system and are still experiencing heat gain in your room. You may need to hire an HVAC professional to identify and resolve issues with your cooling system.

Related: What are Utility Bills? Costs of Being a Homeowner in the First Year (20+ costs every new home buyer should know)

 

Which rooms are the hottest?

Any room without an air conditioner or HVAC unit is bound to be the hottest room in the house. However, you may also find rooms with a lot of windows or on a higher floor will tend to be hotter than the other rooms in your home. The location of the room in a geographical sense also contributes to how hot it is, e.g., if it is facing west and getting direct sunlight.

 

Factors that make rooms hot

Many factors contribute to a room being hotter than others, and they can often be fixed directly. These factors may have something to do with your air conditioning system and a lack of cool air emitting from the source. Other factors are related to situational circumstances and the positioning of the room in question.

 

Location

An immediate explanation for one room being hotter than another could be that it is at a higher orientation. That is, upstairs on the second floor or higher. The reasoning is that heat rises, meaning all the rooms upstairs are more susceptible to heating up in hot climates.

This is especially true if your cooling system is located downstairs. Often the cool airflow will not make its way to the rooms upstairs. Or, it will at least take a very long to get there.

 

Sunlight orientation

One thing homeowners seldom consider is the positioning of the room in terms of its orientation towards the sun. But, as we know, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, meaning the direction your room faces could play a part in heating and cooling your area.

Typically, the hottest rooms are those in the corner of the house facing a western direction. This results in extended direct sunlight hitting your room and increasing its temperature.

 

Electronic devices

Another often overlooked factor for increased room temperature is the number of electronic devices in your room. Things like smartphones and tablets don’t contribute too much to this issue. However, bigger hardware such as PCs, televisions, laptops, and printers certainly play a role.

A common complaint among homeowners is the heat load produced by their installed Wi-Fi routers (1). So, it wouldn’t be surprising if your hottest room involved a similar electronic-based setup.

 

Faulty HVAC systems

One of the more complex issues causing hot air in your room could be related to your HVAC system. More specifically, your home’s ductwork could be letting you down. Your air conditioning system’s network of air ducts is responsible for producing cool air. Then, it delivers it throughout the house properly.

Of course, even ductless systems can have issues that need to be inspected. Mainly if it produces heat instead of cool air.

 

Ways to fix a hot room without an air conditioner

There are many ways to address the issue of hot rooms in your home. You can do many of them independently without needing to hire an inspector. In addition, many of these “quick fixes” can be applied today without the need to purchase equipment or hire a worker. Below is a list of solutions that can either be applied immediately or organized by contacting the right people.

Related: DIY Home Inspection Checklist for Buyers (Free Printable)

 

Installing an HVAC system

It goes without saying that if you don’t already have an installed HVAC unit or AC system, you are likely to have specific rooms heat up beyond desired temperatures.

An HVAC system keeps your home cool on hot days and keeps you warm on cold days too. Combine it with a temperature sensor, and you should have no issues keeping track of your room’s temperature and adjusting it to suit your needs.

 

Checking the vents

One solution to a hot room is looking out for any closed vents in the vicinity. Their obstruction can immediately increase the room’s humidity and temperature. You may also want to take a closer look into the vents to ensure nothing has fallen inside and is blocking the airflow into your room.

It’s also possible that you are unaware of existing air vents in your home. Sometimes, furniture could block them or be intentionally covered up by a previous homeowner. Be sure to check behind your desks, beds, and drawers to ensure no vents are being blocked.

If your room has no air vents, you can try opening windows or leaving the door open to promote cool airflow circulation across the house.

 

Using insulated blinds

As it turns out, many blinds and shades in people’s homes are not made to insulate incoming heat from outside. Rather, they are designed to block the light, meaning there are no insulation properties to stop your room from heating. For more insulation, try blackout curtains or Roman shades and have them installed on your windows and patio doors.

 

Purchasing solar shades

Of course, insulated blinds come at the cost of losing your view of the outdoors. Fortunately, you could opt for see-through solar shades instead, providing you with essentially the same effect as insulated blinds.

You may also opt for window film. This can offer an aesthetic design to your windows without completely obstructing the view. Although it heavily depends on the design you go for.

If you would rather not purchase new blinds or solar shades for your room, you could try changing the color of your current blinds. Darker colors absorb more heat than lighter colors, preventing things like hot spots and heat gain from occurring.

You can try painting over your blinds with a black or dark brown color as a DIY solution to save money on a new blind entirely.

 

Installing ceiling fans

Often, the AC system in our homes do not do us justice. This is because they may not cool the entire house. In addition, they generate a lot of cooling costs that leave us scratching our head when we receive the electricity bill.

Often an oversized system takes up too much space on the wall. Instead, you may want to opt for something more simplistic and cheaper to run, like a ceiling fan.

The great thing about ceiling fans is they work well with or without an HVAC indoor unit. They can provide more air circulation around the room with a consistent breeze that can be sped up or slowed down at will.

When combined with an AC system, the ceiling fan helps to spread the cooled air to ensure the flow doesn’t get stuck blowing in a single direction only.

 

Relocating your electronic devices

Of course, you can’t relocate all electronic devices. After all, the television belongs in the TV/living room, and the microwave belongs in the kitchen. However, appliances such as printers and Wi-Fi routers don’t necessarily need to be in the same room as the TV and PC, so consider relocating them!

Some homeowners have a dedicated wardrobe or closet that keeps all these portable electronics.

Since heated air is emitted from these electronics, you could install a cooling mechanism to disallow them to generate heat. One example is a PC liquid cooling system specially designed to keep your electronics cool and prevent overheating.

Cooling liquids and cooling fans can help prevent warm air from spreading from your devices to your room’s atmosphere. So, be sure to consider their applicability in your home!

 

Fixing your HVAC system

The issue may require expert advice if your room is still hot despite your efforts to cool it down with an HVAC system. You can get an in-depth HVAC inspection carried out by a professional who can advise you of your system’s issues and provide solutions. Depending on your HVAC unit type, the issue could be related to ductwork or a technical issue with the AC itself.

 

Ductwork issues and solutions

If the issue is with your ductwork, it will likely be related to the tubes sustaining a pierced hole and having the airflow compromised. You can use duct tape to seal any holes as a DIY solution. Then, no cold air leaks from the ducts’ exterior walls.

Of course, it may be an issue beyond your skill level, or you don’t feel safe attempting the fix. In that case, it is better to call up an HVAC professional to avoid damaging any ductwork further.

Another DIY solution related to ductwork is simply reallocating different rooms in your home with different ducts. For instance, if you have a faulty duct, you may opt to reposition it.

Each duct comes with a damper that essentially “dampens” the air flowing through to your room. The best course of action is to ensure that the damper to your hot room is completely open or “perpendicular” so that the maximum airflow is coming in without any obstruction (2).

You can also slightly close off some ducting dampers to sacrifice some cool air from one room and reallocate it to a room with less air or higher temperature.

 

Ductless systems

A common occurrence with ductless HVAC systems is a dirty filter that does not transform hot air into cool air. Fortunately, this can often be cleaned out yourself by removing the filter from your AC unit and rinsing it under a sink or outdoor hose.

This will help prevent a build-up of cool air from being trapped inside the system. Unfortunately, this often results in water leaking out from your cooling unit, ultimately making your room hotter.

 

How to fix a hot room in house FAQ

 

Why is one room in my house so hot?

There are many reasons why one room in the house may be hotter. For example, such issues could be related to large televisions, PCs, or other electronics emitting heat. At the same time, other problems arise from the location and orientation of said room.

 

What should I do if my room is always hot?

If your room is always hot, it is important that it is not left unchanged and that you implement some DIY fixes or professional solutions. Some of the fixes you can try now include clearing air vents, removing electronics, opening windows, or installing solar shades and insulation blinds.

 

Sources
(1) – https://www.neweggbusiness.com/smartbuyer/networking/wireless-router-hot/#:~:text=If%20your%20router%20is%20hot,temperature%20below%2090%20degrees%20Fahrenheit.
(2) – https://www.mathsisfun.com/definitions/perpendicular-lines.html

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