Every floor in your home should be a retreat that’s warm and comfy in the winter and cool and comfortable in the summer. However, residents in some homes with multiple levels find the upper floor is stubbornly hotter or colder than the rooms on ground level.
This could just be because most thermostats in a house are on the ground floor, which is where people spend the most time—in the living room, kitchen, etc.—so as a result they tend to set the temperature according to how it feels on the first floor.
However, temperature discrepancies between the upstairs and downstairs could also be caused by problems with your HVAC system. Some of these difficulties can be fixed relatively quickly while others might necessitate more extensive and costly fixes. Here, the specialists at Assured Appliance & Heating & Air will help you figure out why the upstairs of your home is hotter than downstairs, or vice versa.
Why Is It Hotter Upstairs?
The phenomenon of the upstairs of a two-story home getting hotter than the downstairs can be chalked up to several factors. Number one, heat rises, so it’s common for the second floor of a home to get hotter than the main floor. Not enough insulation in the attic or roof can make this worse by allowing heat transfer from the roof into the upstairs rooms.
Another common reason is that the air conditioning is not strong enough to cool the entire home, causing it to have difficulty cooling the upstairs sufficiently.
To fix these issues, homeowners could put in extra insulation in the attic and make sure their home has adequate ventilation. If there’s a possibility the AC is the right size for the home, call an experienced HVAC company like Assured Appliance & Heating & Air inspect the unit. A qualified professional also can help locate a unit that's better suited for your home if you are considering air conditioning installation or replacement.
Why Is My Upstairs Colder/Not Heating?
When the downstairs of your home is warm, but it’s extremely chilly upstairs, that makes for a frosty night for anyone whose bedrooms are on the upper floor. The most common reasons an upstairs not heating like it should are the insulation levels and the ductwork.
Inadequate insulation allows cold air to leak through the home’s attic or walls and contribute to heat loss, creating colder temperatures on higher floors. It’s essential to make sure your home has a solid, level layer of insulation in the attic and proper insulation in the walls to keep the cold out and the heat inside.
The ductwork in a home plays a very important role in distributing conditioned air throughout different areas of the building. However, troubles with the ductwork can result in the upstairs being colder than the downstairs. A typical cause for this is improper airflow balance. The ducts may not be the correct size or design, resulting in an uneven distribution of air between the floors. This can cause more warm air to go downstairs, which creates insufficient airflow—which is the heated air—on the higher floors.
Another factor with ductwork is the location of the supply and return vents. If there are fewer vents on the upper level or they are poorly installed, it can reduce air circulation and cause inadequate heating or cooling. In addition, leaks or gaps in the ductwork can cause air loss, reducing the overall efficiency of the HVAC system and actually making the temperature difference worse.
To determine why the upstairs is colder than the downstairs, homeowners should hve their ductwork examined by trusted professionals like the team at Assured Appliance & Heating & Air to identify any imbalances, leaks or inadequacies. Sealing leaks and adding more vents or adjusting existing ones can help increase airflow and ensure a better temperature balance between the upstairs and downstairs.
How You Can Fix a Hot or Cold Upstairs?
If your upstairs is hotter or colder than the rest of your home, an HVAC zoning system could be an effective solution.
An HVAC zoning system separates the residence into distinctive zones, which each have their own thermostat and damper system so the homeowner can modify the heating or cooling of each zone.
This system can be very effective in scenarios where the upstairs of a multi-story home is very hot or really cold while the main floor is comfortable. By implementing a zoning system, homeowners can control the temperature independently in each zone, making it possible for them to address specific hot or cold spots easily.
To find out more about an HVAC zoning system in Genoa, call Assured Appliance & Heating & Air. We’ve created and installed customized home comfort plans for many community members and are happy to show how an HVAC zoning system could benefit your home.
Why Is it So Humid Upstairs?
In addition to the upper story being hotter or colder than the rest of the house, another problem in multi-floor homes is when the upstairs is more humid than downstairs.
A frequent reason for excess upper floor humidity is poor ventilation on the upper floor, which can cause greater humidity levels. As is often the case with temperature differences between floors, poor insulation or sealing in the attic or walls may allow warm, humid air from outside infiltrate the upstairs rooms. Plus, if there are any leaks or plumbing problems on the upper floor, that can also cause unwanted moisture in that area of a home.
To correct humidity problems, homeowners can add more ventilation by getting fans or opening windows to promote airflow. Appropriate levels of insulation in the attic and better sealing the attic and walls can help prevent external moisture from entering the upstairs. Finding and repairing any leaks or plumbing issues is also extremely important.
Depending on the levels of moisture found in the home, a whole-home dehumidifier could be another valuable tool to manage humidity on the upper and lower floors.