Simple solution to "upstairs too hot"
For those of us unable to use our upstairs in the hot summer months due to inadequate air conditioning, I have found a simple, cheap solution. I can't add extra insulation since there is no attic. A window or through the wall air conditioner was not an acceptable answer. A ductless unit still added a honking big wall unit and some kind of outside thing, not to mention very expensive. Never really looked into a fan booster for the existing 2 ducts. I tried fans to move around the AC that did make it, but it just didn't work, so for 24 years I resigned myself to abdicate the use of my second floor and sleep downstairs during the hot summer months.
In all my searches for a solution I never heard of placing a fan at the bottom of the steps, blowing the cold air UP. I was a my sister's a couple of weeks and she was doing this. I tried it, and it works. I have now reclaimed my upstairs for sleeping at night. A couple of hours before I intend to go to bed I turn the fan on high, turn the thermostat down (I like to sleep cool, so this is no different than what I had been doing) and put the ceiling fan on high. By the time I go to bed the temp and humidity has gone down dramatically. The fan I use has 3 speeds, a timer and a remote control, so that if I want to turn it down to medium, I don't have to go down the stairs. It's the best cheap, plastic fan!
Comments (8)
mike_home
7 years agojaneway452
7 years agoThere's nothing normal about my little old house. There are no returns upstairs. There are two ducts. There's a small room on one side of the steps and the other is a big room that opens at the top of the stairs, a duct in each room. There is a return at the bottom of the steps, right behind the fan. Here's a photo.
There is a floor duct just around the corner to the right of that door (not the door behind the fan) and it really puts out. And there is another wall duct to the right about 3 1/2' down the hall, blowing across to the staircase.Related Discussions
Simple Homemade soil mix using readily avail ingredients
Comments (19)Jojo: That is exactly what friends are for..lol To keep me on my toes,not the heel, literally..lol Thanks for the encouragement Rhizo and Jojo. It means a lot at this moment. I am looking at a few turn yellow and I just know someone has to feed them. I think I have someone in mind for a small price, probably free:0) Thank goodness I had someone to reset the water pump on my pond that redirected to shoot water right out of the pond. I have no idea how that happened, but it was almost empty this am. I could hear the fish pleading for their lives and yet the frog didn't seem phased at all. Dsiebr> You an old fart? No...lol Have a great night all. It is always refreshing to visit here after a long and agonizing day. Between this, tv, and reading, I think I will have to hit the gym once I can walk again. Talk about but cramps and a sore lower back from all this sitting. Mike...See MoreMay have been this simple solution
Comments (1)I am glad your concern has been resolved and thank you for reporting back to us on the actions you took. As a thought, perhaps this post should have been placed on the original thread so members could see the contributions and suggestions made originally. I have taken the liberty to link the original thread below for the convenience of others. DA Here is a link that might be useful: What's the Reason?...See MoreSimple solution to soil infested with fungus?
Comments (5)it seems like your powers of observation are increasing ... as is your learning curve ... but we are wondering if the conclusions you are coming to ... are correct .. when is the last time you switched out the media in toto??? media is a water management system ... that also manages air flow ... when media starts breaking down ... it can get mucky or retain too much water ... which also reduces air flow.. and all that can lead to rotting media... which can lead to natures decomposers which include mushrooms and molds.. etc ... and that is why the peeps above... are wondering about your conclusions ... never stop theorizing.. and never stop learning... ken...See MoreUpstairs still too hot in a *zoned* system.
Comments (0)We have a zoned HVAC system, but the upstairs room still gets too hot. It's always calling for cooling while the rest of the house is calling for heating, so every time out heat pump is done heating the downstairs, it has to reverse direction and start cooling the upstairs. That can't be good (I don't know if it's bad for the system or not, but it's definitely not efficient). What should we do about it? The dampers do leak some air to all zones, but apparently that's normal so I don't know if that's the major problem. We do keep the doors to upstairs closed, but it still gets too hot up there. There are return air ducts going to each room, so maybe the hot air is rising up through the return air ducts? Not sure if there is a solution for that. Any ideas?...See Morejaneway452
7 years ago
imlt
7 years agosunnydj23
7 years ago
Pawprint