Running Fan One Zone Two Floors
May take a day or so for everything to level out.
Running fan one zone two floors. It did help even out very uneven temperatures between floors and was low cost modification. Create climate zones the diy way to do this is to close a few not all vents on the first floor. It actually may lower energy usage because your hvac system won t need to cycle as often. Leaking air ducts if the ducts connected to your second floor are leaking cold air then of course your upstairs will not be cold.
Keep in mind that running the fan will raise your electrical bill but not by much. This forces your a c system to direct more air upstairs. Keeping upstairs rooms adequately cooled in summer puts the homeowner up against a basic fact of physics. The same two degree difference will usually be sufficient in the winter as well.
Set temp slightly higher to top floor for the bottom floor thermostat. Hot air rises so the second floor is naturally going to be warmer. If you have the same temperature set for both floors in the summer the cold air from the upstairs is settling downstairs while all the hot air rises to the second floor. It was a older system that had been modified as additions and changes were done on the house.
This will make the cool air rise to top floor easier. This will help push the cool air that has settled downstairs to your upper floor. For example if your preferred temperature in the summer is 74 f set the downstairs thermostat to 73 f and the upstairs to 75 f in effect bracketing your desired set point. However when the thermostat senses that the temperature on the main floor is the temperature your hvac system has been set for it will turn off the ac.
Place fans around your home that will help keep air moving like in step 2. Unfortunately the average air duct system lose around 20 30 of its conditioned air to cracks and gaps i the ductwork. Don t worry running the fan doesn t use a lot of energy. That house had two floors only one zone in the heating and ac.
You could turn the ac down even more. Of course this means that your second floor has not yet sufficiently cooled. It can be challenging to maintain a comfortable temperature in an older two story home with only one central air conditioning. Not only that but heat gain.
This allowance is usually around two degrees depending on ceiling heights on each floor. Pros cons of two central air conditioning units for 2 story houses. Close your bottom floor vents and have the fan set to on. This means the second floor unit is running continuously trying to cool off the hot air that s constantly moving up.