What can be done to keep the temperature in the house uniform?

Question

We have a 2 story house(2500 sft and 1000 sft basement)in Missouri. Basement is too cold even after we closed all the vents completely. Main floor is not bad, But the upstairs where the bedrooms are its too hot. If we need the booster fans in the vents upstairs, whom do we contact? And any estimate on how much the repair people may charge? Thanks for the help.

Answer 1

If your air handler has a fan control, run the fan continuously, even when there is no signal for cooling. This should circluate the cooler basement air up to the top floor, and the hot air on the top floor down to the basement.

If you do need duct boosters, a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning company (HVAC) can help you with this project. The booster fans run U$ 200 - 400, and labor is about the same, unless there is special situations. Call three companies and ask for a quote. Some companies will charge for a quote, but they will deduct the quote cost from the final invoice.

Answer 2

I have the EXACT same problem. Even worse is that I don't have ceiling fans upstairs. I have closed all the main floor vents except one in the living room and I also keep the basement door open because although all vents are closed it is still freezing down there. Then I just keep a floor fan circulating upstairs when I am home. This does seem to help. Good luck!

Answer 3

If your house has a main blower fan, then go have a look at it. Usually, where the main outgoing duct takes a turn (from vertical [up] to horizontal [sideways]) there is a damper control. This is used to control the airflow to the different floors. Adjust the damper control to send less air to the lower floor and more to the upper floor.

Answer 4

The basement is supposed to be cool.
Upstairs can be helped with good insulation in the attic and a vent/fan in the roof. You could use two.
They let the heat out of the attic instead of staying in and heating the upstairs floor.
.
There are many kinds to choose from and I don't know what someone would charge. They are pretty easy to put in yourself.
Here is a pic to show you the concept.
http://search.aol.com/aol/imageDetails?invocationType=imageDetails&query=attic+fan+roof&img=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.homeevol.com%2FPasssol%2Ffanatticconcept.gif&site=&host=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.homeevol.com%2FPasssol%2Fpassivesol.htm&width=133&height=65&thumbUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fimages-partners-tbn.google.com%2Fimages%3Fq%3Dtbn%3AJaLDlcr-DRoi0M%3Awww.homeevol.com%2FPasssol%2Ffanatticconcept.gif&b=image%3FinvocationType%3Dtopsearchbox.image%26query%3Dattic%2Bfan%2Broof
Also, cover all windows upstairs so no sunlight comes in during the day. Open up at night to let cool air in

Answer 5

run ceiling fans! they help tremendously in circulating the air. I do it, even though i only have a ranch-style and my a/c doesnt run as often. and I also run a de-humidifier in the basement.