Dear Angie: I recently purchased my first two-story home. I love it, except now it’s cold outside and I’m having a heating issue. When the furnace is on, the upstairs gets very warm, while the first floor and basement remain somewhat chilly. I know heat rises, so this might be a dumb question, but what can I do to help even out the heat in the house? If I close some of the vents upstairs would that redirect some of that heat downstairs? Could it be an insulation issue? The house seems well-insulated in the attic and there don’t seem to be any drafts around windows and doors? – Joe P., Plainfield, Ind.

Dear Joe: Unfortunately, for many owners of two-story homes, varying heat loss – or heat gain – is a common problem.

Two-story homes often require more cool airflow to the second floor during the summertime and more warm airflow on the first floor in the wintertime. The goal, obviously, is to create air balance throughout the home year round, so it is heated – and cooled – more evenly.

As you suggested, closing off the registers on the second floor during the winter – and ensuring they’re open on the lower levels – will force more of the heated air to the first floor and basement, and reduce the amount of heat the upper level receives. Flipping this process during the summer will have the opposite effect.

Another good rule of thumb year round is to turn your furnace fan to the “On” position at the thermostat, which will allow the unit to continuously circulate air throughout the home. This should help keep warm air from collecting on the second floor and prevent cold air from lingering at the lower levels, creating better temperature balance from room to room. Operating your furnace fan on a continuous mode rather than on “Auto” – in which the furnace motor will start and stop – also reduces the amount of energy the furnace uses, which will save you money in operating costs.

If you don’t have a ceiling fan, adding one in some of your larger upstairs rooms could also help. By reversing the direction the blades rotate – so the air is forced down in the winter and up during the summer – can also create improved air circulation.

If, after trying these options, you still experience discomfort, then it’s time to turn to a qualified, licensed heating and cooling technician who is experienced in air balancing and can evaluate your system.

An experienced technician can check to ensure your furnace is sized properly for your home and that you’re using the proper filter size. Using a filter that’s too small or too restrictive can decrease air flow, which will cause your system’s efficiency to decrease as well. A professional can also test the static pressure in your ductwork to determine if there is a something causing the system to perform poorly. The more pressure you have in your system, the less air it can move. Adding dampers – which help regulate airflow from room to room – could also solve the balancing issues.

Though the solution to your problem could be a fix as simple as adjusting the registers in each room, I still recommend you have your heating and cooling system professionally inspected each spring and fall. By doing so, you’re more likely to catch small problems before they grow into bigger, more expensive ones.

Angie’s List collects about 40,000 consumer reports each month covering more than 350 categories of home-related services. Angie Hicks compiles the best advice from the most highly rated service pros on Angie’s List to answer your questions. Ask Angie your question at askangie@angieslist.com