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I recently moved into a renovated split level house. With the cold spell, noticing a lack of heat to keep the main living area warm and trying to get ideas on what to do to fix it.
Currently with the cold temperatures, my boiler kicks in all the time given that I have a 2 zone heat system. The den zone kicks in for all of 5 minutes because it has 2 big radiators for a very small amount of floor space. There is an unheated basement that is open off the den level. I have a second zone for the rest of the house (3 brs and lrom/dining room etc). The bedrooms get super warm because the radiators are quite large.
However the main living space is always cold! When they did the renovation, they tore down a wall ot make it open concept and in doing that removed a radiator, so I have 2 medium radiators trying to heat a 500 sq foot floor space. Amazing that the bedrooms have less floor space and much more heating! I recently added more insulation to the roof so should be at the required r39, but in terms of comfort or feeling drafts,
I still have that in the main living space
As the split level is all open not sure how to keep the temperatures. Currently the den is 2 degrees cooler than the main level to account for the heat rises theory. Not sure if that is the way to go. Love to get insights from people who own splits and have enhanced their comfort.
Any thoughts on what I can do to enhance the comfort and reduce the frequency of boiler kicking in?
Do you have those half recessed sheet metal radiators that only have a small element inside? If so those are garbage and replacing them with sunrads would be a huge improvement.
Do you have those half recessed sheet metal radiators that only have a small element inside? If so those are garbage and replacing them with sunrads would be a huge improvement.
I'm in the same situation. Any idea how much that would cost per radiator?
Yes the radiators are of the type you speak of. Funny enough the whole house has the same type of radiators but down here given the size of them and I think they are at the tail end of the pipes from the furnace their effectiveness is quite reduced. Preferring not to go the space heater route as have kids running around here.
Have given serious thought to putting a natural gas fireplace in the living room as it sits above the boiler and when it gets into the 20s or below can use that to help the comfort.
Yes the radiators are of the type you speak of. Funny enough the whole house has the same type of radiators but down here given the size of them and I think they are at the tail end of the pipes from the furnace their effectiveness is quite reduced. Preferring not to go the space heater route as have kids running around here.
Have given serious thought to putting a natural gas fireplace in the living room as it sits above the boiler and when it gets into the 20s or below can use that to help the comfort.
I have a gas fireplace with a blower that I use in the morning and evenings when its very cold out. It makes a huge difference.
I have 3 zones, basement (heats up very fast like yours), dining/Kitchen/upstairs (does not heat so great when its sub 25 degrees), and living room/office. I had the same issue with the bedrooms getting hot, so I got an ecobee3 smart thermostat which has remote sensors that I place in the bedrooms, it averages out the temp from the bedroom and the main floor and has made it way more comfortable upstairs. Another thing that can be done is (if you have a boiler) change the hi/low setting (usually the high is set at 160ish) to 175 or 185. This will send hotter water to the baseboard, unfortunately you will also burn more oil, some claim it makes a difference.
I also have a slant fin oil space heater that I use once and awhile in the office if its really frigid out. They are actually very safe and even have thermostats built in so it will just maintain the temp you set it at rather than blasting heat constantly.
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I agree with One to go, those oil filled radiators work great and are a quick cheap fix. Later on you could have a professional re-evaluate your heating system and identify a permanent solution for you.
Preferring not to go the space heater route as have kids running around here..
Understood but the oil filed space heaters are not dangerous. They radiate a steady heat and if tipped over shut off. They don't have the open heating element or blower. It's a quick fix for under $100.
I used to live in a split. If I understand correctly you have:
Level 1: Den
Level 2: Living area
Level 3: Bedrooms
With level 1 on its own zone and level 2-3 on another zone.
There are a few problem with this setup. Heat rises. This will naturally make L3 warmer than L2. This is made worse by more heating element/sq ft on L3. (bedrooms vs the L2 where you mentioned they removed some heating elements upon expanding the floor plan).
I am guessing that your thermostat is in the hallway on L3. That will make L3 comfortable, while L2 is cooler.
The ideal fix is to split L2 and L3 into separate zones. This is usually very easy to do in a split level home. That's what I ended up doing.
An alternative is a separate unit to provide supplemental heat on L2. Personally, I would never use a space heater. Also not sure how well a single space heater will work with an open floor plan.
A much better (although more expensive) idea are those built-in heating/cooling units. They install into the wall and work great. AC in the summer and heat in the winter. Fairly low profile in the wall and safer than a space heater. In a split, I would compare vs the cost to split L3 into a separate zone - the zone split may be less expensive (depending on your home configuration).
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