It’s inevitable that if you live in a two-story house, the rooms on the upper floors will be a lot warmer than the main areas of the house during the summer. Adjusting the thermostat can cause an imbalance that results in the lower levels becoming too cold and utility bills getting too high. This may sound like quite a challenge to address, but here we talk you through the causes and solutions.
Take note of some of the common causes of this dilemma:
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Hot roof. Radiant heat from the sun can be absorbed by the roof and radiate into the rooms closest to the attic.
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Hot air. Heat tends to rise, while cool air settles in the lower levels. In a multi-story home, the ground-level parts of the house will receive adequate cooling while heat collects in the rooms upstairs.
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Leaky ductwork. Cool air passes through longer sections of ductwork in order to reach the house’s upper-story rooms. Leaks in the ducts can make cooling these rooms even more difficult.
How to address this problem:
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Block the sun. Close your shades to block light, heat and ultraviolet rays. You can also consider heat-blocking shades or UV blocking film. Make sure to seal all cracks, holes and gaps around windows to prevent air leaks.
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Check your furnace filter. Dirty filters will restrict airflow in your home and ultimately make your HVAC system work harder than it needs to. Have professionals inspect it and clean it up.
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Consider adding a ductless HVAC system. Ductless HVAC units are a great way to control specific areas of your home separately. Talk to your local AC provider about upgrading to a larger HVAC system or adding a second system upstairs.
Let us help you with your installation and repairs. Climate Systems in Wexford is a family-owned and -operated company that’s provided the North Pittsburgh area with high-quality HVAC installation, maintenance and repair services for over forty years. You can reach us at (724) 426-0813 or by filling out our online form here.
