Tell me more ×
Home Improvement Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for contractors and serious DIYers. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 1 down vote favorite

There is only one A/C system in the house. I noticed there is at least several degrees difference between the two stories.

How do I get both stories to have the same temperature?

share|improve this question

3 Answers

up vote 1 down vote accepted

If you have forced air, running just the blower fan to recirculate the air may help. Most thermostats have a way to manually set the fan to "auto" or "on", and you can also get thermostats where you can program the fan to come on at regular intervals.

Beyond that, there are changes you can make with varying levels of difficulty and cost:

  • Plant trees or install blinds to shade windows where sun is coming in and heating the room more than the rest of the house
  • Check for poor insulation around the house (this can be done with an IR sensor or camera).
  • Check for and fix drafts and air leakage
  • Install a multi-zone heating system. This requires some potentially major work to the house -- varying from installing dampers and separate controls to installing a second HVAC system -- but it would give you complete control over heating/cooling in two (or more) areas of the house.
share|improve this answer
1  
It also could be the air distribution system is improperly balanced to begin with. This is inevitably a compromise, as heating distribution requirements will not be the same as cooling. Reducing airflow into areas that don't need as much cooling will help, but could cause problems when heating season comes about. – bcworkz Jan 14 at 18:48
thanks......... – Fred Jan 14 at 18:52
up vote 0 down vote

Short of running the blower constantly as gregmac mentions, you can adjust your vents and dampers so that you cool the upstairs in the summer and heat the lower floor in the winter. On my HVAC ducts, I have dampers that adjust how much air goes to each section of the house, so it's quick to switch from winter to summer that I do when switching the thermostat from heat to AC. From the outside, these dampers will appear as a small metal lever on the side of the duct that's open when it's inline with the duct and closed when it's perpendicular.

share|improve this answer
up vote 0 down vote

This is what I do. In summer the temperature of my top floor is way more than the ground floor. We use dry straws all over the roof. Then we pour water in it and let the water sink into the porous straws. (This will not work with non-flat roofs). The straws act as insulators and prevents sunlight from being absorbed. This will reduce the temperature of your top floor. Also like @gregmac said check for leaks, that can also be a culprit. Let me know if you want more help.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.