Your entire residence should be a retreat that’s warm and cozy in the winter and cool and comfortable in the summer. However, families who live in some homes with multiple levels find the upper floor is stubbornly hotter or colder than the rooms on ground level.
This could simply be caused by the fact that most thermostats in a house are on the ground floor, which is where people spend the the majority of time—in the living room, kitchen, etc.—so they set the temperature according to how it feels on the first floor.
However, temperature variations between the upstairs and downstairs could also be due to trouble with your HVAC system. Some of these challenges can be sorted out fairly quickly while others might require more extensive and costly fixes. Here, the professionals at Dearing's Service & Solutions will help you solve 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 traced to several factors. For starters, heat rises, so it’s common for the second floor of a home to get hotter than the main floor. Insufficient insulation in the attic or roof can make this worse by letting heat transfer from the roof into the upstairs rooms.
Another common reason is that the air conditioning is not powerful enough to cool the entire home, causing it to have difficulty cooling the upstairs properly.
To fix these issues, homeowners could add additional insulation in the attic and make sure their home has proper ventilation. If there’s a possibility the air conditioning unit is the proper size for the home, call an experienced HVAC company like Dearing's Service & Solutions inspect the unit. A skilled professional also can help locate a unit that's better suited for your home if you want air conditioning installation or replacement.
Why Is My Upstairs Colder/Not Heating?
When the downstairs of your home is warm, but it’s very cold upstairs, that could result in a frosty night for anyone whose bedrooms are on the upper floor. The most prevalent reasons an upstairs not heating like it ought to are the insulation levels and the ductwork.
Inadequate insulation permits cold air to filter through the home’s attic or walls and contribute to heat loss, causing colder temperatures on the upper levels. It’s crucial to make sure your home has a solid, level layer of insulation in the attic and adequate 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 locations of the building. However, troubles with the ductwork can cause the upstairs being colder than the downstairs. A frequently reported reason for this is improper airflow balance. The ducts may not be the right size or design, causing an uneven distribution of air between the floors. This can cause more warm air to go downstairs, causing insufficient airflow—which is the heated air—on the upper level.
Another potential problem area in the ductwork is the layout of the supply and return vents. If there are fewer vents on the upper story or they are not correctly installed, it can limit air circulation and cause substandard heating or cooling. In addition, leaks or gaps in the ductwork can lead to air loss, reducing the overall efficiency of the HVAC system and actually making the temperature difference worse.
To understand why the upstairs is colder than the downstairs, homeowners should hve their ductwork inspected by skilled professionals like the team at Dearing's Service & Solutions to identify any imbalances, leaks or inadequacies. Sealing leaks and installing additional vents or adjusting existing ones can help improve airflow and ensure a more even 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 lower floors of your house, an HVAC zoning system could be a great solution.
An HVAC zoning system divides the residence into distinctive zones, which each have their own thermostat and damper system so the homeowner can customize the heating or cooling of each zone.
This system can be very helpful in instances 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 regulate the temperature independently in each zone, making it possible for them to address specific hot or cold spots effectively.
To discover more about an HVAC zoning system in Huntingburg, call Dearing's Service & Solutions. We’ve created and installed customized home comfort plans for many community members and are happy to show how an HVAC zoning system could work in your home.
Why Is My Upstairs So Humid?
In addition to the upper story being hotter or colder than the rest of the house, another challenge in multi-floor homes is when the upper floors are more humid than downstairs.
A common cause for excess upper floor humidity is weak ventilation on the upper floor, which can produce greater humidity levels. As is often the case with temperature differences between floors, poor insulation or sealing in the attic or walls may permit warm, humid air from outside infiltrate the upstairs rooms. Plus, if there are any leaks or plumbing issues on the upper floor, that can also create excessive moisture in that level of a home.
To deal with humidity problems, homeowners can increase ventilation by installing fans or opening windows to promote airflow. Proper insulation in the attic and better sealing the attic and walls can help stop external moisture from entering the upstairs. Identifying and repairing any leaks or plumbing issues is also critical.
Depending on the levels of moisture found in the home, a whole-home dehumidifier could be another useful tool to reduce humidity in the residence.