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sndtech t1_j77ttw1 wrote

Reply to comment by irr1449 in Is it normal for the heat to not be able to keep up with extreme cold? by SquashDue502

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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