Does any one know how to reduce the heat in the second floor of a house, without increasing insulation or AC?

Question

I am looking for the least cost / maximum benefit method, and I already think I have the solution, but I wanted to see what everybody else thinks.

Answer 1

Reduce the HEAT. Or decrease the temperature?
Reduce the heat generated in the house. Less people, appliances, direct sunlight, etc. reduces heat.
Decrease the temp by getting rid of the hot air.
Exhaust fans, window fans, furnace running on blower only to mix upstairs and downstairs air.
On hot days ceiling fans help to reduce your skin temp. by evaporating your sweat but they do not necessarily reduce room temp, in fact they may increase it by constantly circulating the room air over the heated exterior walls..

Answer 2

Under those conditions, you probably have to go back to the good old days when most two story houses had grills in the ceiling that let warm air from the kitchen, etc., rise to the second floor. In this case, you will need power because hot air won't sink, so you will either need to add a duct and fan to carry the air down.
If you have force air heating and cooling, the simplist step is to leave the Fan on all the time and that will circulate air.
Both, by the way, should increase the cost of your AC since more air is being cooled to the lower temp.

Answer 3

I had this problem in my house as well. I had an exhaust fan installed on the ceiling of my attic (roof). You may need to run electric up to your attic or place the fan close to power. The fan is about a foot in diameter and it is super quiet. I recommend this over a regular attic fan due to the reduction in noise especially when you are sleeping. One problem I ran into down the road was that the fan began to let water in after a few years, so make sure that the installer doesnt cheap out on the caulk when sealing it.

The first night I had it installed, I felt a huge difference in the temperature in the bedrooms. Good luck.

Answer 4

We live in an 100+ year old house. We don't have AC. When it is in the 90s our upstairs is so hot! My husband said that we should get an attic fan. I don't believe they cost that much and are quite efficient at sucking out the hot air. Maybe look into one as well!

Answer 5

Make sure your ATTIC area is well ventilated. It should be very close to the outside temp.
Check that air can go from the soffit area to the top vent of the roof. If insulation blocks it, use "Mor-vents" to channel the air past the insul.
A whirly vent helps, or an electric assist to the top vent to create greater flow.
That should cool things down!

Answer 6

I put a circulating fan at the bottom of our stairs and then one at the top of the stairs...it really works wonders on those days when it's already 85 at 10am! It's low cost because the fans aren't too expensive.

Answer 7

2

Answer 8

1

Answer 9

Have a zone controller and a couple of dampers installed. I put them in my house and its a night and day difference. Its something you can do yourself but call around and get some estimates.

Answer 10

i would say a ceiling fan...or install an exhaust fan in attic..or the cheapest way to go would put a fan in the window to do the job of both of above suggestions