Is it acceptable to have the main bathroom temperature be anywhere from 4 to 10 degrees colder than the hallway just outside its door in an Energy Star certified home, or does this violate a code? My main interest is if I can have the builder pay to fix the cold bathroom by adding an air vent, or if I'm stuck with a cold bathroom.

One of the benefits that is advertised with an Energy Star certified home is "Consistent temperatures are felt across every room, making the entire home comfortable year-round," and "efficient air ducts, so rooms get enough air to have consistent, comfortable temperatures throughout the house." Reference Wall-to-wall Comfort : ENERGY STAR and A Green Home Begins with ENERGY STAR Blue : ENERGY STAR

We very recently had a new, Energy Star certified home built. The main bathroom doesn't have an air vent, which can cause it to be up to as much as 7 to 10 degrees colder than the hallway just outside the door. Specifically, the temperature is about 7 to 10 degrees colder immediately after the thermostat increases the temperature from sleep mode to awake mode. During the day, the temperature difference in the bathroom is about four to six degrees colder than the hallway.

The temperature is usually only a few degrees different if the door is left open all the time, but we're keeping the doors closed at the suggestion of the home warranty representative, who said that it's best to keep the doors closed for the first year due to structural settling.

The main bathroom is on an exterior wall with two bedrooms on each side of it. The two bedrooms are an even temperature with the hallway, which is usually 67 degrees during home/awake mode at this time of year.

Thank you

 

Well...I would think there should be a vent...esp in a main bath. The advice to leave the door closed due to settling is about the most off the wall thing I've ever heard. What is it supposed to accomplish?

 

Say what

The main bath should absolutely have a supply in it.

 

GG beat me to it, but that statement is really a line of bull.

Have you talked to the builder? Were the plans approved as ES qualified. Is the builder ES qualified?

I would expect better temperature control, but not sure what ES requires. Find out who certified the home as ES and ask.

Bud

 

I'm glad that I'm not the only one who thinks this is strange. The representative said to leave the doors closed for the first year while the house settles because it would help to keep the door frames from shifting to the point where the doors become too off-center to close.

I don't know if this statement is correct, but that's what the reasoning was.

 

Bud, we did tell the builder, but no word back. To our knowledge, the builder is ES qualified and the plans were approved as ES qualified. We're supposed to be receiving a letter in the mail soon with the official certification. Once we receive it, we'll contact them to see if this is normal. Thank you for the advice.

 

I Googled "Quality assurance for Energy Star" and got a lot of hits. You might try finding something close to you to see who handles the QA.

Bud