Is it normal for the heat to not be able to keep up with extreme cold?

Submitted by SquashDue502 t3_10tgh5f in newhampshire

Obviously it’s been extremely cold outside and our heat is set to 65 but it’s been dropping over night and this morning to around 56. I’m not sure if something is broken or if this just happens when it gets super cold cuz I’m not from a cold place like this lol.

I know in the summer where I’m from the power companies will sometimes override what the A/C is on to help the power grid not be overloaded when it’s incredibly hot, idk if they do that here for the cold?

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teeeray t1_j76j0ik wrote

You should call up NH Saves and get your insulation evaluated / blower door test.

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irr1449 t1_j76ndzs wrote

Yes this is normal. My house is only 4 years old. Very good insulation and a efficient heating system. I dropped to 56 as well. I live in the White Mountains and we were at -20 all night, plus house is very exposed to the wind.

Update; we’re at 0 now and temp is up to 64. My guess is that we could maintain 68 in the -5 range. This is with 30-40 mph gusts. Probably lower with no wind. Our heating systems are just not designed to handle -20 plus the wind.

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sndtech t1_j77ttw1 wrote

I have a 50 year old house with a drafty front door. -13° plus the winds and we maintained a 70° set point . We have forced hot water and it was running a ton but it kept up. Your system might be under sized.

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gn84 t1_j79i9bl wrote

Well-designed modern hvac systems are intended to maintain a set temperature differential. Last night was an outlier event that was likely well below the designed temperature. My guess is that it's working exactly as intended.

The idea is that it's better to be chilly for one night every 3-5 years and save hundreds of dollars in energy the rest of the year. Having a secondary/backup source of heat would solve that problem.

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Black6host t1_j79xec5 wrote

Yeah, it's been space heater time for me. I can keep one room nice and warm and that's good enough for times like these.

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procrastinatorsuprem t1_j7a5gb9 wrote

I love my little space heaters. My furnace couldn't keep up but a little space heater in my living room and one in the kitchen kept us toasty.

Later this evening, my house felt too warm. I turned the heat back to 68 from 71. I guess my system could keep up tonight better than last night and this morning.

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Black6host t1_j7ajkhm wrote

Yeah, I'm relying on regular heat now also. Unless it's shower time, then it's time for the space heater to be sure!

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hermansupreme t1_j785yvr wrote

Similar here. 1953 built with shitty insulation and original windows. Furnace is only 4 years old but set at 65 and stayed there.

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Lumpyyyyy t1_j76odkk wrote

Systems aren’t designed with this temperature in mind. The heating load is typically designed around 0 degrees. Any colder and your system will struggle to keep up. As long as the pipes are still hot, it’s still functioning.

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SquashDue502 OP t1_j76ov3b wrote

Yeah I mean I went to the basement and the heating unit is definitely giving off heat. I think it’s just that the slow heat coming out of the baseboards isn’t replenishing heat fast enough because we have bad windows that emit a lot of cold air lol

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john_le_carre t1_j77aj3k wrote

Definitely recommend sealing your windows with plastic film. It doesn’t seem like it should make a big difference but it’s huge.

You can get kits from hardware stores or, of course, Bezos.

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Lumpyyyyy t1_j76p1l7 wrote

Make sure your baseboard units are open if it is forced hot water. The metal angled piece can be rotated.

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thread100 t1_j77kivr wrote

Do what you can to help. Keep the curtains closed on non sunshine windows. Minimize running exhaust fans in kitchen and bathroom. Make sure you keep a door open on any exterior wall sinks. Block any drafts you can with blankets or towels. Bake that extra turkey you have in the freezer.

If you have a heat pump, there is not a lot you can do this low. It’s a trade off worth taking for the savings 99% of the time.

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SquashDue502 OP t1_j79c7mo wrote

The sun actually helped a lot in rooms that get good light through the windows!

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SocksAndCrocz t1_j77b3mv wrote

I’m not sure about what is normal- but should be expected. Your furnace running the hot water through your baseboards has a max capacity that generates a maximum amount of heat in the house that you cannot change. You’re probably maxing it out this weekend like most folks

Think of that that heat coming in to your house as water flowing into a dam. The temperature in your house is like the level in the dam, equal flow in and out means the water height stays constant, and the same is true for the temps in your house.

Your house loses heat through leaks. if the leaks amount to more than the amount of heat coming in, temperature begins to fall, same as the dam analogy

For any given wind speed, the amount of heat that you leak out is proportional to the difference in temperature (outside - inside).

Bottom line- when it gets really really cold, your temperature inside will drop until the heat coming in matches the heat leaking out. You get two primary options to fix it- buy more heat capacity, or reduce heat leaks.

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SasquatchGroomer t1_j76p58a wrote

When it's 25° outside, and you're trying to heat the house to 65° you're trying to add 40° to the house. When it's -15° and you're trying to heat the house to 65°, you're trying to add 80° to the house.

So, it's normal for the furnace to need to work twice as hard on a day like this If your heating system would need to be working at greater than 50% capacity under more typical conditions, than it would be expected to struggle on a day like today.

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sndtech t1_j77ub79 wrote

Furnaces only have on or off, they don't work harder to maintain in set temp, they run longer. Heat pump systems are a different story but the furnace or boiler found in most homes just runs longer to get to a higher temp.

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gn84 t1_j79ivri wrote

Often the limiting factor is the distribution of the heat to the living space (ie HW baseboards). Also, some newer modulating condensing boilers can adjust up and down.

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difractedlight t1_j7az8s4 wrote

Yea that probably don’t have enough linear feet of baseboard and given that it’s a rental it’s probably poorly insulated.

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A_Man_Who_Writes t1_j773j3w wrote

Your home is poorly insulated. It can’t hold the heat that’s being pumped into it. The strong winds are making it impossible. My apartment has been fine this whole time because we have good insulation; albeit the heat had been kicking on nearly nonstop.

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emptycoils t1_j76lyc9 wrote

Forced hot water? And you rent? Call your landlord immediately.

We have forced hot water heat in part of our home and our furnace guy told us to turn the thermostat up to 73-74 and keep it there when it gets to single digit temps. If a certain zone in the system isn’t calling for heat, in extreme temps there can be small stretches of pipe that are fairly close to exterior siding and if there isn’t constant demand for heat, they can freeze up if the house gets cool like that. Your landlord will know if this is an issue in your house.

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Excellent_Affect4658 t1_j76jh97 wrote

Dropping to 56 overnight is pretty extreme. What kind of a place is this, how is it heated, etc?

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SquashDue502 OP t1_j76jlwq wrote

It’s a house we’re renting and it has baseboard heating that’s as much as I could tell you lol

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mc_lean10 t1_j76l73g wrote

Same happened at my rental (very old duplex with baseboards) my upstairs stayed over 65, downstairs dropped down to 57 by morning. Just check for drafty windows/doors, we had to throw a towel down in front of one of the doors, we threw a sheet up to block off our stairs so that more heat stayed downstairs as opposed to up, try blocking off areas to try and help heat build up. Our downstairs went up to 62 (and climbing) within a couple minutes and the upstairs has plenty of heat. If that doesn’t work then I would maybe call the landlord and see if he can send somebody over to make sure your system is working properly

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CosmicSurfFarmer t1_j76u5pc wrote

It’s not extreme at all. It’s a function of the heat load of the home and the BTU per hour capacity of the heating system. The design day for the system is likely well over -13°, so the system struggles on these outlier days

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Excellent_Affect4658 t1_j77v7bx wrote

This is not normal. Don’t apologize for landlords. They are required to provide a system capable of maintaining 65 degrees. If the system can’t keep up and drops 10 degrees below that in a single day of cold weather (weather that we regularly have for a few days or a week most winters), then one or more of the following apply:

  • the rental unit has inadequate insulation and sealing
  • the heating system is undersized
  • the heating system needs service
  • OP has not been shown how to use the system correctly
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CosmicSurfFarmer t1_j77xboq wrote

Talk to any heating professional- that’s not how it works. If you always designed for the extreme outlying days, then you have a grossly oversized system for the remainder of the year and are wasting a ton on unnecessary equipment. The design day temperature for Rockingham county is 0° for example. That is the standard that a system is installed and sized for. When it’s colder than that, you’re going to need to take supplemental measures.

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Excellent_Affect4658 t1_j77xvya wrote

And the landlord is required to provide them! So again, either the apartment is inadequate to state standards, or OP has not been shown how to keep it heated. Either way, the answer does not have to be “just suck it up and have a 55 degree apartment.”

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NewHampshireDude t1_j76x0h0 wrote

Check the system. One of my zones was this cold this morning and there was a minor issue with where the thermostat connects electronically to the water regulation pipe near the furnace in my basement (a loose screw). Shouldn’t drop that low. My other zone was perfectly at the temp I set.

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59000beans t1_j76l5c3 wrote

Easiest solution is to buy some plastic insulation film for your windows. Also, get a door sweep to plug up any gaps in doors leading outdoors. For people with forced air, check your filters because a dirty filter will cause the furnace to struggle.

But, dropping nearly 10 degrees sounds like something might be wrong with your system. Keep an eye on if it continues to drop.

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movdqa t1_j76l8v1 wrote

I've not seen any reports of problems with the power companies.

I just checked and we're set at 64 degrees and the temperature inside is 69 degrees (the HVAC gets the temperature above the setting and let's it drop). So I dropped the setting to 63. I feel fine but I'm wearing two pairs of wool socks and long underwear.

Things that could cause this: problem with heating system, inadequate heating capacity, insufficient insulation, leaks.

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surmisez t1_j775ney wrote

Depends in what type of heating you have, the insulation in the building, and whether the windows, doors, outlets/wall switches are leaking cold air.

Our previous home was built in 1924, had a pressure steam boiler, and had zero insulation for the first winter we owned it. It could not keep up with the outside temperatures. We had to practically sit on a radiator to get warm. Many times, when it was really cold outside, we could see our breath inside.

That spring we had blown-in insulation installed. In the attic they laid insulation bats on top of the blown-in for a higher R value. The following winter, we had to turn the heat down from where we previously had it as it was way too hot in the house. The difference was absolutely astounding.

Our current home has spray foam insulation and a new propane forced hot air boiler. It has zero issues with keeping up with the outside temperatures.

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hardsoft t1_j77qj8y wrote

My home is a little over 30 years old, running on the original boiler, and has had no problem.

I even increased the temp setpoint closer to 70.

It's pretty well insulated and uses forced hot water.

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SquashDue502 OP t1_j76nioj wrote

We have oil heating btw idk if that helps 😂

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eklindss t1_j77a9cw wrote

As others have already stated- yes normal! We live in an old house (1848) so it’s drafty! A little tip we got besides managing drafty areas is to bump up your heat 2-4 degrees higher than you normally keep it a day or two before a cold snap hits and it’s definitely helped!

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overdoing_it t1_j78h4v4 wrote

No problems here, been 62 inside all day. 35 year old house with a 35 year old boiler. Go figure.

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TurnoverTall t1_j78tnxb wrote

8 year old home. Propane forced hot air. Maintained 68 degrees entire time in Concord turning on and off as required. I was expecting it to run continuously but not the case.

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SquashDue502 OP t1_j79c2ys wrote

Our house is 113 years old 😂😂

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TurnoverTall t1_j79ejy6 wrote

You win?

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SquashDue502 OP t1_j81pbqu wrote

Said that to a friend here and they beat me with theirs being almost 300 😂 houses here are ancient lol

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TurnoverTall t1_j81s7zu wrote

Now I can understand the heat loss given the limited insulation based on the age of the home. That is where to focus if you are looking long term. That intense cold was…intense.

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Arthur-Morgans-Beard t1_j7g37nb wrote

I have a 3 year old furnace (forced hot air) and live in Northern Coos, in a pocket that is well known for high winds and heavy snow fall. My house is 50 years old and I was sitting around in shorts on Friday night. It was -16 when I got home Friday evening and -22 (plus the wind) when I started my pickup for work on Saturday morning. I've lived in that house for 13 years and never have had a problem keeping it above 65.

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DeerFlyHater t1_j76vvyc wrote

No it's not normal provided you have a functioning system right sized for your house and your house at least moderately insulated.

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aladdyn2 t1_j7775zn wrote

False

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DeerFlyHater t1_j77ggw8 wrote

Sure if you have a shitty system and a shitty house.

There was nothing extreme about last night's weather. Was it cold and windy, definitely. It was nothing crazy though. There is no reason his heat shouldn't have been able to keep up.

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aladdyn2 t1_j7b0bc0 wrote

Confidently incorrect. You think -15f and 20 mph wind is normal? It's clear you don't know what you're talking about. You shouldn't be scaring people here on the sub.

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DeerFlyHater t1_j7bjjvd wrote

> You think -15f and 20 mph wind is normal?

Yes. It's cold. It's below average. It's not extreme. It's a northern New England state-cold is normal.

There were a few -12s here in the Lakes Region last year and much colder further north. It was -18 yesterday morning. Zero problems with any heat. I spent four years living in Alaska-another state which is supposed to get cold. Never had a problem with the heat despite colder temps than yesterday.

Not all of the sub lives on the MA border.

I can't figure out if you're on the repair side and giving kickbacks to the sales people for selling undersized stuff or the other way around.

If your heat is not keeping up with normal weather and the house is appropriately insulated, there is a problem. It may not be something is malfunctioning-it could be a mistake when buying an undersized system.

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aladdyn2 t1_j7bnokf wrote

Again if you think that is normal weather you are just plain wrong. Alaska has different weather then us... You really do seem clueless.

Properly sized equipment is not sized for extreme weather. If you design your ac here for 100 degree weather and heat for -20 your systems are oversized. Your system kept up? Good for you, enjoy wasting money on the poor efficiency of your oversized system 99% of the heating season. If you need to be at 70 during the extreme ends of our temp range then it's wise to have an auxiliary heat source

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DeerFlyHater t1_j7dhav7 wrote

> You really do seem clueless.

Hey, I'm not the one telling people it is normal for someone's heat not to work.

My system is perfectly sized for my house.

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aladdyn2 t1_j777bgi wrote

Yes it's normal, it's not only hard because it's cold but the wind really amplifies the heat loss

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Ok_Nobody4967 t1_j788vso wrote

You should have kicked the heat up to at least seventy degrees. It can be too difficult for your heating system to keep up with extreme cold, especially with the wind.

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