I think some of this is an HVAC issue, so I figured Id ask the experts here
Plus I know a lot of people know good building science on here.
Forced hot air, 2 zone setup. Living floor and sleeping floor of house are the 2 separate zones. 1 return in dining room on living floor, 1 return in ceiling of hallway on sleeping floor. In both cases, the t-stats for the zones are on walls adjacent to the returns.
My issue is that Im not comfortable unless the system is running. I know its the nature of forced hot air that without the air flowing the house will cool down, but I feel that the house either cools down too fast, or has hot and cold spots drastic enough that I feel a difference wherever I go (i.e. laying in bed in my bedroom, the comforter, furniture, and me feel cold.....if Im watching TV in the living room, I can swear I feel a draft coming from upstairs [the second floor is open to the living room via a cathedral ceiling and balcony-type hallway])
Ive had a blower door test done......they found some leaks, but nothing major (and actually said it was one of the tighter "old" homes they've seen). Ive since begun sealing up the leaks, most of which were small (except for the duct chase being open from basement to attic.....that was my "big fix" so far this year). There is plenty of insulation in the attic, at least 12" worth (more in some spots) of unfaced fiberglass. The ducts in the attic have been sealed with fiber mesh tape and mastic. Balancing dampers were added in each branch from the trunk that runs into the attic, so I could lower air flow to the rooms closest to where the trunk comes up, and that added more flow to the rooms further away.....but again that works really well as long as the system is running.
Any advice? Our current furnace equipment is only 8 years old, so it has plenty of life left on it (several HVAC companies have said 5-7 years minimum left on it). So Id prefer non-equipment-related advice if possible
Then 5-7 years from now I can re-visit the issue.
I was thinking about possibly reinsulating the attic by removing all the fiberglass, filling any gap I could find with caulk/foam, and then using spray in cellulose. Not sure if this would help my issue or not though.
Thanks in advance. Feel free to give me 9 lashes if this post doesnt belong anywhere on this forum.
-Chris