iPhone 5 poor reception compared to my old iPhone 4s

I recently picked up my iPhone 5 last night and realized after activating, my reception wasn't too good in my house. Now before when I had my iPhone 4s, the reception was just fine. It ranged from 2-3 bars, but now my iPhone 5 will range from 1-2 when untouched. When in my hand the bars will drop to one. When placed on a table the bars go back up. I'm not sure why this only occurs at my household, but I find it odd. I'm not sure if this has something to do with the hardware or the software.