Heating In My House?
Question:Can anybody tell me if it is natural for there to be at least 15 degree difference between levels of floors in a house. We have two floors with the bottom one being half below ground. the top floor is always excruciating hot without the a/c on but the downstairs is always cold is there anything I can do to fix this problem?
Answers:
Close the vents in the lower half during ac season and open during heating season.
Close doors in upper area and if there is a door to lower area then keep closed as much as possible.You can also check the return air duct to see if any of the duct-work or joist-lining had come apart.
Make sure the filter on the system is clean and any return air openings on the upper floors are kept clear of obstructions.
Put fan control on the thermostat to the on position to circulate the air through the house.
Just remember hot air rises and you will always get a 2 or 3 deg temp difference per floor. By keeping the doors closed during the day it will minimize the air from stratifying.
Install a whole house fan.
If it is installed properly, you should be able to balance it, with either dampers in the heat runs or with the registers. Try closing the registers down stairs in the summer. Enough cool air will probably fall to the downstaris.
It is normal for there to be a bit of different between floors, but 15 degrees is way too much if the AC is designed and operating properly.
Check for blocked vents upstairs, including return air vents. Make sure your filters are clean. Other than that, you may want to call a HVAC contractor to have a look.
Try running the fan without the cooling on. There is a switch on the thermostat to do this. That should help balance the heat a little better and you may not have to use your a/c so much.
It is not a problem. Physics. Warm air rises and cold goes to the lowest point. It is the same for all houses of multilevel design. Live more in the basement during the summer months. In the evening, I turn on the fan>not to blow onto me, but to blow out the upstairs window>a big box fan< and I open a lower basement window cross court, so cooler air from the ground level(or as close to it as the window is) is sucked in thruout the house. This goes all night. In the morning. I shut all the windows to retain the cool night air for as long as possible and close many curtains (especially on the south facing side) and don't start to do the fan suction again until 5-7 pm. Is liveable.
Yes this is normal. Sometimes people will make spaces in the basement for them to sleep because of the naturally cooler temperatures. The earth takes time to warm up over the course of the spring and summer. Your lower floor is embedded in the earth and therefore may not warm up till mid summer. You may be able to take advantage of this cool space by running the furnace on fan only. Air from both floors will mix in the furnace and balance out the disparity in temperature.
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