Too hot upstairs

[Way Cool Jr]

The upstairs of my house is about 10 degrees warm than the downstairs. I have one AC unit that cools the whole house. How can I cool off the upstairs without spending a ton of money?

[Yellowstang]

Sorry, but Too hot upstairs by Way Cool Jr made me laugh!


Have any ceiling fans upstairs?

[Way Cool Jr]

Sorry, but Too hot upstairs by Way Cool Jr made me laugh!

That is pretty funny...I should change my handle to Way Cool Downstairs. :)

[ceyko]

The upstairs of my house is about 10 degrees warm than the downstairs. I have one AC unit that cools the whole house. How can I cool off the upstairs without spending a ton of money?

I have the same problem and have not nailed this one fully. Somethings I've done that helps...

-Attic Fan
-Little extra insulation
-Solar screen
-Portable AC unit for when it is especially hot up there

I too am looking for the magic bullet. A couple of HVAC peeps said my 5 ton is good enough to handle the sq footage of the house. Problem is, the thermostat is downstairs and heat rises - plus the heat radiating in...etc.

Fucking HVAC people.

Edit: Oh ya...the ceiling fan does help...as suggested above.

[Progres1]

Install a zone control system with bypass damper it will allow you to have a thermostat upstairs and down stairs that will oprerate dampers to send air to the area that is needing cooling. You will have to have a ac guy design the lay out and install the controls the last one i did was $3500. out the door

John Sheffield

[Tiny Tim]

Install a zone control system with bypass damper it will allow you to have a thermostat upstairs and down stairs that will oprerate dampers to send air to the area that is needing cooling. You will have to have a ac guy design the lay out and install the controls the last one i did was $3500. out the door

John Sheffield

x2. I have one and it rocks!

[Big Studly]

Problem is, the thermostat is downstairs and heat rises - plus the heat radiating in...etc.

heat doesn't rise, hot air rises:biglaugh:

[ceyko]

heat doesn't rise, hot air rises:biglaugh:

As I said, fucking HVAC guys.


:)

[AL P]

Good luck with this shit. I have a 2550 sf house and about 900 of that is upstairs. I have a 5 ton unit downstairs and a 2 ton unit upstairs, both Bryant units and about 3 years old.

No matter what I do my upstairs area is hot as fuck during the summer. I mean the 2 ton unit runs 100% of the time and the temp won't go below 80 degrees during July. I've done some radiant barrier and insulation. New curtains. My next step is going to be even more radiant barrier and possibly replacing all the windows.

[Cooter]

foil the roof

[futant]

i had the same problem in the summer. thermostat downstairs as well
things i did -

1. put on exterior shutters , closed on 4 upstairs windows - huge difference alone. Texas pretty much warrants something like this or the shaded bug screens are also quite effective for others i know.
2. doubled the amount of airflow going upstairs - i disconnected the section closest to my unit that supplied air to the kitchen . All the air has to go through my kitchen any way so I thought no big deal right? This worked good, but I admit it was a PITA having to make a new main branch go up to my 2nd story attic , and that was the right way to do it for max flow.
Now it works great, all except in the winter , at night it will get hot in our rooms as it cycles more often. Our only solution was to program the thermostat a little lower at night so it wouldn't run so damn often. But it has to only be at night otherwise it'll be cold downstairs during day (again winter)

I would concur with the other suggestion above that baffles would help a great deal also. Overall I am pretty happy though and it cost me a lot of labor but less than 100 bucks material

[donnie90stang]

Put a small 110 window unit in the upstairs where you sleep till you can figure it out. I CANNOT sleep when its hot!!!

[PUSHROD]

If you have a zone system make sure the damper for the upstairs is operating. If motor is faulty that could be issue.

[mikeb]

Put a small 110 window unit in the upstairs where you sleep till you can figure it out. I CANNOT sleep when its hot!!!

Probably your cheapest, quickest option.

[ceyko]

Probably your cheapest, quickest option.

Too add to this, the OP - like me is probably not for spending 3500 and/or another chunk of money on something that may or may not work.

Window units work, I use a portable unit with the hose going out a sealed slit in the window. They also have the slim type from Samsung (can't find an immediate link).

I was looking into this as it is aesthetically pleasing and supposedly easy to install. Just drill hole through wall, run drainage..seal...mount AC, plug in...done.

[thrshr68]

out the window with a unit will look like hammered dog shit. How old is your house? You mentioned buying new windows.... so I am assuming they are older windows? You will always be fighting a never ending battle with the heat upstairs. next house buy a single story house. every HVAC guy will tell you the same, solar screens, tinting inside, screens outside, add attic fans, larger ceiling fans that could circulate more air. locate the "return" for the A/C system if it is down stairs move it upstairs. this will consist of buying 18-24" duct plumbing in the existing duct work. I can help you with that but am not responsible. best of luck.