How do you cool your upstairs?

[Shugardrawers]

We have a very old townhouse. The a/c system is pretty old too. Downstairs stays relatively cool but upstairs is sweltering. All the vents upstairs are open and all the windows closed . There is a window fan in the bedroom but the rest of the window is blocked off so no significant amount of heat is coming in that way. Short of a window a/c does anyone have any good ideas to get the cool air from downstairs to go upstairs??

 

[Pop Daddy]

naked only room upstairs

 

[cheerbop]

bumping...b/c I would love to know this also!

 

[FSUGrad97]

Before we moved into our new house, we lived in a rental townhouse that had the same problem. Many times, I just left the ceiling fan on all the time, which helped a bit.

My DH thought the ducts might have needed to be cleaned out, or the whole AC system replaced (since it was original to the home and easity 20 years old). Also, you could try tinting your upstairs windows or using heavy drapes to keep the sun/heat out.

Good luck to you, as I know how annoying this can be.

 

[motherhen17404]

My father has this problem with his house. He just put in an attic fan, or some people call them whole house fans. He said this has helped. He was also told to put in more insulation in his attic. When my mother was sick he did put in a window unit, that was the only time I remember his upstairs being comfortable.

My house does tend to be a little warmer upstairs also. We keep all the blinds/drapes closed and we run fans to keep the air moving. This year we are trying to do without the whole house a/c. We put in 2 window units-one in my bedroom and one in my son's bedroom. So far, so good, but we have not had very hot days yet.

 

[Shagley]

We had central air installed into our older house about four years ago. Even with a newer air conditioner system, our upstairs is still really warm. My sister's bedroom is upstairs, and we never came up with any great way to make it cooler up there. Putting a fan right in front of the a/c vent helped to make it a bit cooler, but it was still pretty warm. Just last week she gave in and bought a window a/c, and she loves it.

 

[Chicago526]

Our central a/c went kauput. We just bought a window a/c unit for our bedroom so we can sleep at night. But prior to that, we used a window box fan to pull in the cool evening air in our room, and our celling fan helped push it down on us while in bed. Worked well until it got too hot/humid to be effective.

Window a/c units have come down in price and are much cheaper to run than they used to be. If your home owneres association prohibits them, they also now have portable a/c units that just have a vent through the window. Like this:

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Our upstairs is warmer than our main level and our basement is nice and cool, even with the vents closed. Make sure that you don't have some sort of lever that closes off part of the a/c to different parts of your house. We have one that closes off our upstairs--not sure why it's there, but it was closed last winter and we froze until we figured it out.

 

[pooh4evr]

I keep ceiling fans going all day and keep blinds/drapes closed so the sunlight doesn't warm up room. we have the ac set at 74. (4 bed 2 story home)

 

[NewJersey]

my parents put in an attic fan upstairs and the top floor (bedrooms) now stays much cooler!

 

[ashjohnson80]

Our central a/c went kauput. We just bought a window a/c unit for our bedroom so we can sleep at night. But prior to that, we used a window box fan to pull in the cool evening air in our room, and our celling fan helped push it down on us while in bed. Worked well until it got too hot/humid to be effective.

Window a/c units have come down in price and are much cheaper to run than they used to be. If your home owneres association prohibits them, they also now have portable a/c units that just have a vent through the window. Like this:

Maybe I should try one of those!!!! We have a bonus room (one of those houses where the only upstairs room is above the garage) and it's always a good 10 degrees hotter up there in the summer. I can't even go up there in the day anymore, which is why I'm at my parents using the computer .

 

[arkansas mom]

How 'bout the ol' ice cubes in the bra trick?

 

[Tiggeroo]

usually these problems are due to poor design of the duct work or an undersized system. The true solution would be to correct this. Some home layouts benefit from two systems. You could put in a second ac system upstairs.
Call a good hvac company. They can look over your duct work. Sometimes you can have insulation that has fallen and stopping some of the airflow upstairs. Or they might be able to make a simple change or two to improve it or put in a bigger blower motor. Most older homes though it's tough to get alot of improvement. If you only use the upstairs at night you could put in some window units or ductless systems and turn the ac way down in the evening and use the window units.

 

[KimR]

We might have to try an attic fan. I've tried everything to cool off the upstairs. We don't get any direct sunlight and our house is well shaded by trees, I keep all the blinds closed, make sure the lights stay turned off in the evenings as much as possible but I still cannot get it to cool off. At 10:00 at night it is still 80 degrees in my master and I cannot sleep when it is that hot. Last night I slept downstairs on the couch. The strange thing is even in the spring when it gets no warmer than the low 70s outside, our bedroom is in the mid-to-high 70s. The attic must hold in the heat like a greenhouse causing the upstairs to heat up as well. I wish we'd bought a house with the master on the main floor now. The kids sleep upstairs but the heat doesn't seem to bother them.

 

[kimmikayb]

Yep we have this problem too. It's always hot upstairs, winter or summer. We have an attic fan which helps a lot. But it's broken right now. We have the windows covered and ceiling fans. I also use floor fans to circulate the air.

When all else fails, sleep naked.

 

[Nala56]

We have a split entry type house and have trouble keeping upstairs cool. The ideal solution is to have 2 a/c units, one for upstairs and one for downstairs, but would cost a lot to do this. We put an attic fan in that's on a thermastat, extra insulation and put a ceiling fan in the entry way and reverse the blades to force cool air to stay upstairs. We also hose off the outdoor a/c unit often to keep clean and change air filters alot. All this combined has helped quite a bit. Also, you might try closing some of the vents in the downstairs area so more air stays upstairs. Good luck

 

[Shugardrawers]

Dh says the portable a/c units are getting really bad reviews and window units aren't allowed. Lovely. I'm thinking part of the problem may be that I just have sheer panels on the upstairs windows so that's letting in a lot of light and heat. I'm gonna get some blinds this weekend.

Our master is directly across the hall from the guest room and each has a window directly across from the other. Will it help matters to put a fan in each window, one on inktake and one on exhaust? Dh thinks that will create a breeze.

 

[BunsenH]

...
Our master is directly across the hall from the guest room and each has a window directly across from the other. Will it help matters to put a fan in each window, one on inktake and one on exhaust? Dh thinks that will create a breeze.

As long as the outside air is cooler than inside, this is a good idea.

If the outside is still warm, use the fans on exhaust and pull some of the cooler downstairs air to the upstairs.

 

[Tiggeroo]

ductless systems are a bit different then the portables. You might have to purchase them from a professional. They work quite well and are less then central.

 

[SplshMtn99]

We live in a 3 story condo. No central A/C. Mainly use fans.

Think of your townhouse as a chimney. Hot air rises. What you need to do is create an air flow from BOTTOM TO TOP.

First off, keep the house as cool as possible by NOT letting the heat in in the first place. Keep WINDOWS, shades, binds & drapes closed during the day. Ceiling fans or desk top fans can be used to circulate air across the skin for a cooling effect during the day.

At night, when outside is cooler than inside, open the bottom floor & top floor windows/doors. Next using window fans, PULL COLD AIR IN ON THE BOTTOM floor and PUSH HOT AIR OUT ON THE TOP floor (or even into the attic). Keep windows on middle floors closed.

This will create a chimney effect where the cold air while come in & UP and replace the hot air in the house. Easier than it sounds. (Its best NOT to have ceiling fans on while doing this because it disturbs the chimney effect. You can put them back on later for sleeping if you like.) You need a STRONG airflow to get cold air to rise...because it wants to sink.

DONE THIS OUR WHOLE LIFE. My bedroom was top floor of a cape --eccentailly the attic. HOT!!!!

IF ALL ELSE FAILS by bed time, turn the window fans around on top floor to PUSH cold outside air into just that floor.

ANOTHER METHOD (if you can't get a strong enough airflow for a chimney effect) is to cross ventilate each floor separetely. On the cooler side of house, PULL IN cool outside air thru windows; & PUSH it out on other side of house thru windows. This creates a draft thru each floor.