Top Five Air Conditioning Tips for Two-Story Homes
Air conditioning helps make the hot months of summer much more bearable. However, when you have a 2-story home, it can be difficult to evenly cool your entire home. Sometimes this issue can result in uncomfortable rooms, and even worse, outrageously high energy bills each month! Here some top air conditioning tips for two-story homes.
- Installing multiple thermostats can help you to control the temperatures in various rooms of your home. If the thermostat is located on the first floor in a shady room, how can it properly cool a room that gets lots of sunlight on the second floor? It can’t, and therefore lots of energy may be wasted since you will likely have to manually increase the air conditioning temperature to cool the entire house. Since hot air rises, the rooms upstairs in your home will likely be much warmer than those on the lower level. Installing a thermostat on both floors can help the cooling system detect which areas in your home are too hot or just right, so only the necessary amount of energy is used to keep you cool.
- Install vent-less air conditioning units. If you don’t need to cool your entire home, consider going vent-less to reduce energy use. These units can be installed to the ceiling or wall of a room and they will have a thermostat just for that space. Often they are much cheaper to install than vent cooling systems, so they are a smart option if you do not already have a cooling system in place.
- Using ceiling fans can significantly help you to reduce energy use. Keeping the fans on can improve air circulation in your home so that your air conditioner will not have to work as hard. These fans are especially effective on the second floor since they will prevent hot air from rising and settling in rooms. Ceiling fans are also a very attractive way to help improve the decor of your space since they are available in various colors and styles.
- Closing off rooms in your home that you don’t use can help tremendously when you are cooling your home. If you need cool air in the rest of the home, but not a certain office space, closing that door will ensure that cool air is not wasted on keeping that room comfortable. This will help ensure that cool air is being directed to spaces on the second floor that need it more.
- Finally, installing an attic fan or vent can significantly help keep your entire home cool. Fans are often hooked up to a thermostat so that they are triggered to turn on when the attic reaches a certain temperature. An attic vent and fan can often eliminate any home cooling issues you are having. In addition, it can benefit your home in many other ways. It can help extend the lifetime of your roofing materials and can lower your utility bills each month.
All of these tips will help to regulate the temperature throughout your entire 2-story home. If these tips are not effective, you may need to maintain or repair your air conditioning or HVAC system by adding refrigerant to a heat pump to hiring a professional. If your cooling system is in good shape, however, these tips should be able to have a significant influence on your home’s comfort and efficiency.
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Great informative piece. These tips will definitely help the homeowners to control the temperature on both the floors. It is very important to keep your heating and air conditioning units in good running condition. Proper care of your air conditioning system like scheduled cleaning will also make it more efficient for a long time. Ensure to schedule maintenance of your AC unit by the professionals like https://essexheatingcooling.com/ and seek out any necessary upgrades that will assist you in ensuring that your AC unit is in top condition.
I noticed that the last option advocates for an attic fan, but FHB argues they don't make a lot of sense since the second story should be insulated from the attic anyway (https://www.finehomebuilding.com/2013/04/25/whats-the-difference-whole-house-fans-vs-powered-ventilators). Is there another benefit to the attic fan that I'm missing?
what is a "vent-less air conditioning unit"? i am assuming that you don't mean ductless.
i can close off one room on the second floor, but there is a register in the room. can closing the damper on the register and a "damper" on the duct the the basement help?
does closing registers on the first floor interfere with the overall efficiency of the whole-house air conditioning? i am wondering whether the resistance from several dampened ducts has any kind of detrimental effect? and, will that dampened ducts just increase the amount of cold air that refrigerates the basement?
i should say that my house is a 95-year-old brick/stucco bungalow and its walls can not be insulated (i've been told). the ducts are more than 35 years old and are not insulated, although they are sealed. my 2013 furnace and ac are high-efficiency.
thanks for your ideas.