Certain rooms seem cursed to remain cold, no matter how high you crank your thermostat. Yet with the right knowledge, solving this problem may not require having to call a professional HVAC repair person. If you would like to increase your understanding of home heating systems, read on. This article will discuss four factors that may be at the root of your excessively cold room.

The Register

Though you may not be familiar with its proper name, the register is the rectangular grate usually located along the base of a wall. Each register is the terminal point of a metal duct that leads all the way back to the furnace in your basement. But unless your register is open, heated air can't move into your room. Thus, as embarrasing as it may seem, the logical first step in diagnosing a chilly room is to check that the register is fully open.

Furniture

To properly heat a room, the register doesn't just have to be open--it has to be unobstructed as well. Unfortunately, this fact doesn't always fit in with our sense of interior design. As a result, couches, beds, and entertainment centers often end up blocking the register. Rearrange furniture as necessary to ensure that heated air can freely pass into your room.

Furnace Dampers

Registers aren't the only things controlling the flow of air through your HVAC system. Furnace dampers are essentially registers with more responsibility, in charge of allowing heat to move into whole wings of your home. Even if you've never messed with a damper yourself, it is not uncommon for HVAC technicians to close them when performing repairs and upgrades--nor to forget to open them up again once done!

Therefore, it makes sense to see if a closed damper is the cause of your cold room. This means heading down to the basement. Take a look at the ducts leading out of the furnace, keeping your eyes peeled for anything that resembles a handle of the side of a duct. Position all such handles so that they are pointing the same direction as the duct.

Furnace Filter

As long as you're fiddling around down in the basement, it's a good idea to take a look at your furnace filter. This removable component has the important duty of keeping particulate matter from getting into the blower motor.

But when the filter becomes too clogged up with dirt and debris, it reduces the efficiency of your furnace. As a result, not all rooms may get the heat they deserve. Make a point to inspect your filter every two months. If it appears excessively dirty, replace it with a new one.

If you check these four things and the room is still cold, something more serious might be wrong with your furnace or your ducts, so be sure to call a pro from a company like SDA Armstrong Mechanical Services Ltd to check it out.