Just moved into a 2 story house and upstairs stays HOT

[luvmylittleboy2003]

Our downstairs stays a comfortable 69-70 degrees, the upstairs 73-76 depending on the bedroom, which makes for very uncomfortable sleeping, and showering/getting ready is miserable. I just bought (and should receive tomorrow) a small clip on fan that I will either clip to our bed or towel rack in bathroom and a High-Velocity 3-Speed Oscillating Blower Fan to use on ds's floor to circulate air (after reading this tip online). Are there any kind of curtains, blinds, etc...that would help with this or if anyone has any other tips I would greatly appreciate it

 

[Meriweather]

keeping the air moving helps. We have ceiling fans, but in the summer we also use a stand fan by the bed.

Blinds, drapes or shades that block the light help keep the heat from the sun coming in. We have blinds and darkening drapes in the bedrooms.

 

[golfgal]

I know this isn't the "best" way but we had a 1920's Craftsman house that wasn't the most "efficient". About an hour before bed in the summer I would close all the heat registers in the main level forcing the air upstairs to cool it off more. It really helped.

I would also investigate how much insulation you have in the attic-having the proper amount can make a huge difference.

There are insulated drapes/blinds, etc. that do help quite a bit with keeping drafts out (both cold and warm) so adding those should help too. How old are the windows too? If they are 15 years old or older, they probably could be replaced or at least new caulk around them.

 

[Wall-E1]

There are window films that can block 50% or more of the heat of the sun, and they aren't too dark.

 

[ChrizJen]

We have the same problem. OLD house that has an old air conditioning unit that isn't big enough to cool the second floor. Our second floor is like an attic space in that parts of it are directly under the slope of the roof. So there's nothing but the roof between the sun and us. I didn't want to do it because I've always thought they were ugly, but we finally broke down and bought 2 small, energy efficient window units for the bedrooms upstairs. We close the vents on the second floor so that the central unit can be more efficient with cooling the first floor. The small window units do a good job keeping the second floor cool.

And yes, additional attic insulation and room darkening curtains can also help with heat on the second floor.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Here are some permanent changes. I do recommend 2 units. I have had that in the last 2 homes and it has been worth it.

We did do the zoned in our second house and it helped. Hindsight, we should have done 2 units.

It's very difficult to maintain comfort in a two-story house with one heating and air conditioning system. This is because hot air rises moving directly to the upstairs
There are several ways to solve the problem. One is to put in two systems, one for the upstairs and one for the downstairs. The second is to put in a zoning system, and a third way is to put in wireless thermostats.



Two systems will give you the advantage of a backup system in case one fails. However, if the upstairs system fails in the summer, there is really no way you can cool the upstairs bedrooms with the system downstairs. If the downstairs system fails in the winter, it's difficult to get heat from the upstairs area to the downstairs.



The advantage of a zoning system is that it is less expensive than two complete systems. The maintenance is less, because you're only maintaining one system, and you have the capability of putting all of the cooling or heating upstairs or downstairs.



For example, having a three-ton system upstairs, and a two-ton system downstairs, on a really hot night, you could only get three tons of cooling upstairs, whereas with the zoning system, you could get all five tons upstairs to cool the bedrooms if you needed it.



This is less expensive than putting in two complete systems; however, it is still fairly expensive for existing homes. For new home construction, where the ductwork has not already been installed and enclosed, this would be the way to go, as expense is not that great for this option.



The third way, which is by far the least expensive and easiest to do, is to use two wireless thermostats, putting one of the thermostats upstairs in the bedroom and the other thermostat downstairs at the normal location.



Whichever thermostat you push the button on is then the controlling thermostat for the system. If you are in bed at night, you can change the temperature by just having the thermostat sitting on your bed stand. Then, when you go downstairs in the mornings, you can control from the thermostat that is in the downstairs location.

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

I second ceiling fans. I live on the top floor and heat rises! We also have blackout curtains for the side of the apt that gets a lot of sun.

 

[PatsMom]

Fans are great. I spend part of my time in a second floor bedroom in an un-airconditioned cape. The downstairs can be comfortable and the upstairs over 100 degrees! I don't do a window unit because it is my mother's house and I am only there a few nights a week. She hates air conditioning and doesn't want it in her house. The fans save my life!

I also have room darkening shades and I do pull them in the mornings. That definitely helps. Then when I get home from work, open the windows and turn the fan on. Its usually bearable to sleep in.

 

[luvmylittleboy2003]

Thanks everyone! Do you think running the ceiling fan at the bottom of the living room steps (leading up to the bedrooms) would make a difference and which way should I have the blades turn?

 

[czycropper]

If your house has an attic think about installing an attic fan on either side. That helped ALOT in our house to help keep the upstairs cooler. We live in a house that was built in the late 1980s but only have one central air conditioning unit - we've iinvestigated getting a second unit for the upstairs but decided that we could just to save the money and put the attic fan in -- this has made a nice difference. We also keep the shades closed during the day especially in the front of the house that gets the afternoon sun.

Good luck!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Thanks everyone! Do you think running the ceiling fan at the bottom of the living room steps (leading up to the bedrooms) would make a difference and which way should I have the blades turn?

No, you have to install ceiling fans in the bedrooms. You have to keep the air moving.

 

[luvmylittleboy2003]

No, you have to install ceiling fans in the bedrooms. You have to keep the air moving.

Thank you, unfortunately, ds has a loft bed and a ceiling fan for his room isn't optional - I'm really hoping the High-Velocity Oscillating Fan will work for keeping the air moving, but, I'm wondering if its just going to be moving 'hot' air. I may have to use the clip on fan on his bed as well . Worse case, he has to lose his favorite loft bed and get a floor bed (another suggestion I received from someone)

 

[shortbun]

Thanks everyone! Do you think running the ceiling fan at the bottom of the living room steps (leading up to the bedrooms) would make a difference and which way should I have the blades turn?

NO! You need fans upstairs. Are you renting? If you are renting then get an occilating fan and aim it at opposite walls. Fans cool a room by several degrees.

 

[luvwinnie]

Look into installing an attic fan.

 

[Christine]

I lived in a 3-level townhome with the AC and heat unit in the basement. It NEVER got cool upstairs even with ceiling fans, attic fans, a whole house fan, etc. The air just never was "forced" enough to make it up there.

If I still lived there, I would invest in individual AC units for each room. They are much more compact/efficient/quiet than the ones of old times! I think that's really the only effective way to get cool.

My current house is two levels with a basement (so I guess three levels). It came with dual-zone HVAC so I have a compressor in my attic and it really works.

 

[Hannathy]

Put window fans in the upstairs window blowing OUT and leave the downstairs windows open at night to bring any cool air up and the hot air out.

Heat rises is a scientific fact you need to get as much hot air that is coming up out.

He may need to have an air mattress or something for really hot nights cause his loft will be the hottest spot. or sleep downstairs on the couch when you have a really hot spell.

 

[ChristmasElf]

Our downstairs stays a comfortable 69-70 degrees, the upstairs 73-76 depending on the bedroom, which makes for very uncomfortable sleeping, and showering/getting ready is miserable. I just bought (and should receive tomorrow) a small clip on fan that I will either clip to our bed or towel rack in bathroom and a High-Velocity 3-Speed Oscillating Blower Fan to use on ds's floor to circulate air (after reading this tip online). Are there any kind of curtains, blinds, etc...that would help with this or if anyone has any other tips I would greatly appreciate it

Home Depot or Lowes sell these great high powered floor fans. They are round, sit on the floor and move the air around so much that you would think the area was air conditioned.
I think we paid about $65 and we bought a few of them a couple years ago when we wanted to dry carpeting quickly. They worked so great that we kept using them and ended up saving a ton of money not running the air as much in the Florida heat.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Thank you, unfortunately, ds has a loft bed and a ceiling fan for his room isn't optional - I'm really hoping the High-Velocity Oscillating Fan will work for keeping the air moving, but, I'm wondering if its just going to be moving 'hot' air. I may have to use the clip on fan on his bed as well . Worse case, he has to lose his favorite loft bed and get a floor bed (another suggestion I received from someone)

Oh can you do window units? If it is that hot, I would go that route.

 

[Traveliz]

We have a house built in the 1860s and although we put in a new central air and furnace a few years ago it just isn't comfortable enough to sleep at night upstairs...or do any work for that matter. We have individual ac units in each room.

Liz

 

[claudia]

Our downstairs stays a comfortable 69-70 degrees, the upstairs 73-76 depending on the bedroom, which makes for very uncomfortable sleeping, and showering/getting ready is miserable. I just bought (and should receive tomorrow) a small clip on fan that I will either clip to our bed or towel rack in bathroom and a High-Velocity 3-Speed Oscillating Blower Fan to use on ds's floor to circulate air (after reading this tip online). Are there any kind of curtains, blinds, etc...that would help with this or if anyone has any other tips I would greatly appreciate it

Do you have an attic fan? If not have one installed....
also check the insulation in the attic...I think you need R30. also check to make sure that your soffit vents are not blocked....you could also add a ridge vent.