Cooling off?

Question

I have a 2 story brick home in TX that is 2250 sq ft. My A/C unit is 3.5 ton and it runs almost all afternoon. Of course it is hotter upstairs than it is down and I was wondering if there was a way to either push the hot air outside or redirect it to the return air, or what. Please help with some ideas on how to cool more efficiently without getting a bigger unit.

Answer 1

I am also in Texas, and I aree that you can never have too many ceiling fans. You should make sure that you have plenty of appropriate type roof vents. The electric vents are well worth the money in the middle of July....with no rain in site...The faster you remove the hot air as it rises, the easier your second floor will be to cool. A window tint film can be purchased at Home Depot or Lowe's for all of your windows to minimize the heat entering the house. Another tip is to buy the outlet box insulators - when you remove the cover to your light switches and power outlets, they fit in snug and keep air in/out. You might also try to find the hottest room upstairs and open a window about 1 inch so that the heat can escape more quickly.

Answer 2

Something that might help - shut all the air vents on the first floor. This forces all the cold air to go to the second floor, which will cool off. The cold air will sink and eventually cool the first floor also.

Answer 3

Most two story homes have two units. One for upstairs and on for downstairs. Its not cheap but your light bill will end up lower.

Answer 4

Install one or two ceiling fans upstairs and set them to the blow upward direction rather than downward. In the winter you can switch the fan direction downward to get the het downstairs

Answer 5

get thicker curtains