Too Cold or Too Hot? Try the Toilet Paper Test

How to Find Goldilocks Level Comfort at Home

If your whole house can’t seem to hold the temperature you prefer, you have weird cold spots, or your upper level is stifling while your lower level is shivery, a piece of toilet paper can help you identify the problem.

While an energy audit is likely to give you some specific ideas about why you run hot or cold at home, there are often visual clues of discomfort in a house, says David Richardson, vice president of training for the National Comfort Institute , an organization that provides tools and services to help heating, air conditioning, plumbing and electrical contractors grow their business.

“A homeowner can use toilet paper with a cracked door to see if the air pulls in or pushes out,” Richardson says. “This can indicate airflow imbalances that also lead to comfort and indoor air quality problems. A homeowner can also look for cobwebs around openings in the home, and dirt in the carpet around the baseboard and door jams of the home. These signs often indicate outside air coming into the home which could create uncomfortable conditions.”

Even without waving a piece of toilet paper around your door, you probably know that your home’s heating and air conditioning system isn’t functioning as it should. You might just be uncomfortable physically, but another indicator that something’s not right is a bigger than normal energy bill.

“An energy audit can be done at any time but is often used when there are problems.” Richardson says. “Homeowners who want to know more about their home and how to maximize their efficiency and comfort will often have a qualified professional do an energy audit to find improvements.”

How much an energy audit costs depends on your location, your home size and the depth of testing you want. Some utility companies offer rebates for an energy audit. A typical energy audit ranges in price from $200 to $700, according to Angi , a home improvement review and information site.

“If a homeowner knows what to look for, a DIY energy audit may be worthwhile, but only up to a certain extent,” Richardson says. “It's best to hire professionals who have the proper training and high-tech test instruments to evaluate the home for a variety of problems that are often hidden from view. A knowledgeable professional with the right test instruments can discover these hidden problems and interactions that lead to comfort, indoor air quality and energy efficiency issues.”

What Makes Your Home Temperature Uneven

Adjusting the vents based on the season in a multilevel home, such as opening the lower-level vents during the heating season and closing a few of the upper-level vents, may help even out the temperature in your home, but a professional evaluation may provide a more targeted response to the issue.

“An energy audit can help find the solutions for hot and cold spots in the home,” Richardson says. “The two most common culprits are the HVAC system not delivering enough heating and cooling to specific rooms in a home or a lack of insulation and air leakage in the home that need to be improved. In some situations, it may be a combination of both the HVAC system and the building working against each other. A knowledgeable professional can find these problems and offer solutions.”

Solving for Comfort

An energy audit will analyze multiple components of your home such as your insulation, HVAC system, appliances, windows, doors and ductwork, along with searching for air leaks. While upgrading your HVAC system to a high efficiency model or replacing your old windows and doors with more efficient ones can be ideal, there are some less costly solutions that can increase the comfort level of your home.

Your energy auditor can provide an individualized list of recommendations, but some common solutions include a programmable thermostat to control your temperature, and sealing air leaks around windows, doors and electrical outlets.

If a new HVAC system isn’t in your budget right now, keeping your older system clean is one of the best ways to keep it working better for a longer time, Richardson says.

“Ensure that a good air filter that's properly sized is installed to keep the equipment clean,” he says. “Also make sure the outdoor unit is kept clean so that it can breathe freely.”

A bigger budget may be needed to fix some systemic problems in your home, but adding insulation can be a cost effective solution in some instances.

“Depending on whether the problem in an uncomfortable room is an HVAC system problem or a building problem, there may need to be modifications to the duct system such as duct sealing, larger ducts or additional insulation,” Richardson says. “In many instances, HVAC equipment is oversized and may need to be sized correctly for the home. If the problem is with the building, additional insulation or air sealing may be needed to keep rooms comfortable.”

However, Richardson warns, if you’re considering additional insulation, look at air sealing options first.

“Adding higher insulation values with air moving through it is a bad investment,” he says.

A professional can test the airflow through the HVAC system and equipment, along with your duct system, which controls how much air is delivered to each room in your house. If a duct system is damaged, the wrong size for your home and system, or improperly installed, it can reduce your system’s ability to heat or cool by as much as 50% on very hot or cold days, Richardson says.

“One of the biggest killers of HVAC equipment is restrictive duct work,” Richardson says. “Make sure the existing ducts can move the proper amount of air flow to extend the life of an older HVAC system.”

A duct renovation can be a major job, especially if damaged ducts must be removed or larger ducts installed, but over the long-term the result can be a more comfortable home with better indoor air quality and controllable temperatures.

Investing in a professional energy audit can help you identify solutions to reduce your energy use and lower your utility costs while keeping your home comfortable even in extreme weather conditions.

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