Having trouble sleeping? We’ve all been there. But what if it’s something you can easily fix?
Sleep experts will give you all sorts of recommendations, but one of the biggest ones is making sure your bedroom is cool enough. Excessive heat is one of the largest contributors to poor sleep quality.
I lead with this for a reason: if a home has a second floor, usually the bedrooms are on that upper level. And this comes with difficulties in staying cool enough while sleeping during the warmest months of the year.
This is indicative of a larger problem: it’s really hard to keep your upstairs rooms cool during the summer. Even if you don’t sleep on an upper floor, it can lead to annoying, uncomfortable areas of your home.
So let’s fix that.
That’s what we’re here for. Solutions exist for any budget and home that can solve this problem.
Below we talk through The Problem, The Underlying Causes, and The Possible Solutions. By the end, you’ll have some ideas of how to move forward. Let’s get started.
What Causes Hot Second Floors?
Nearly everyone knows that heat tends to rise, so unless something specific is done to cool higher floors, they’ll always be warmer than ones beneath them.
In office buildings, there are dedicated air conditioning systems for each floor, so it’s less of an issue. But in homes, the AC is usually in the basement or on the lowest floor, and it’s meant to cool the entire home.
So the problems compound upon one another if the HVAC system isn’t powerful enough or there are other issues with keeping rooms cool.
Why Are Master Bedrooms Often Too Hot?
This is a special case that we see a lot, and it has to do with how homes are often constructed. This often means your master bedroom is extremely hot in the summer.
The room that will be the most difficult to cool in a two-story home likely has several of the following characteristics:
- It’s located on the top floor
- It’s on the opposite side of the home from the basement air conditioning unit
- It’s above a garage or other space that is not air-conditioned.
- It has multiple windows
The first two probably make the most sense, but many people don’t consider the room beneath a master bedroom, despite the fact that it plays a huge role in cooling.
If the space beneath a room does not have conditioned air, there will be more hot air rising through the floorboards or carpeting to the room above it. Even in the shade, covered garages can often get into the high 80s on hot days. This air is constantly exerting heating pressure on the rooms above it.
Windows can also be a huge source of energy loss.
Consequences of Excess Heat in the Home
Usually people complain to us when they have trouble sleeping in hot weather, but this is far from the only problem that can occur as a result of excess heat in your home.
Among the problems you could face are the following:
- An increase in bug infestations, since they will be attracted by a home’s warm, humid air on the second floor.
- Rooms that can’t be used during the day. Have a study or lounge room? It may be difficult to use it during the hottest months of the year. This can limit a home’s usefulness.
- Increase in allergens in your home air.
Being uncomfortable for large portions of the year is more than enough for most people to want to take action, but it’s important to realize that it’s not necessarily limited to that unpleasantness.
Why Can’t Your HVAC System Deal With Upstairs Heat?
Isn’t this the job of your HVAC system to fix?
Yes, but it can be a challenge for a number of reasons. Each has a solution, but to understand how to fix your heat problem, we first need to explore the different problems that could be causing it.
Your Dampeners Are Closed
This is an easy one: have you checked your dampeners?
It’s common in some households for people to close or open their vent dampeners when they want to funnel more air to a particular part of the home. This can be useful when, for instance, you’re having company and they’ll be in a particular area of the home.
Most of the time, however, all of your dampeners should be open to allow for proper airflow.
Sometimes, too little air in a room is related to a dampener that’s closed in the basement, leading to an upstairs room or hallway.
Your Filter or Ductwork is Clogged
Think of your HVAC equipment as a unified system that is only as strong as its weakest link.
One of the problems that inhibits airflow the most is a clogged, dirty filter. The problems that can occur from this are numerous, but one of them is that air doesn’t circulate to the furthest corners of your house well enough to keep it cool.
Air Conditioner Power
This one can be the most disheartening, but it’s possible that your air conditioner is simply not up to the task of properly cooling your whole home.
This can be a result of faulty energy measurements when it was installed, a poor installation, or simply wear and tear on your system if it’s very old or hasn’t received regular maintenance.
Too Much Energy Loss
A great HVAC system can be forced to fight against your home if it’s inefficient elsewhere.
Are your windows thin and single-paned? If so, you’re losing a lot of cooling capacity out of them, forcing your air conditioner to work harder.
Do you keep the window blinds open all day, allowing sunlight in during the hottest hours of the day? This can actually cost you hundreds of dollars over the course of a year, vs. using blackout curtains or other heat-blocking measures.
Is your insulation as old as the house itself? We often talk to people who have lived in a home for decades and have no idea how old the insulation is.
These things add up. Great AC cooling can combat some of it, but not always.
Ductwork is Insufficient
A powerful air conditioner is still hampered by bad ductwork.
This could mean several things:
- The size of the ductwork is too small.
- There isn’t enough duct line to particular parts of the home.
- The ducts are leaking air, meaning that not enough airflow is reaching certain rooms.
- There is no return air drop from an upstairs room, hindering the proper cycling of air throughout the home.
All of these are fixable, though the solutions range from smaller fixes to wholesale projects that restructure your home’s ductwork. Which is necessary will depend on your specific needs.
How to Keep Cool Upstairs
So what are the solutions? There are several, not just one, and this is good news. It means that you can find one or more solutions that work for your home and budget.
Let’s jump right in and look at the pros and cons of each.
Two-Stage and Variable-Speed AC
This is the solution when it’s the HVAC system that’s not up to the task. Maybe it’s because it’s old, maybe it’s never been able to properly cool your upstairs.
Whatever the reason, modern HVAC tech is capable of keeping you cool throughout your home.
Two-stage and variable-speed equipment is designed to operate at lower power levels for longer periods of time (as opposed to 100% power or 0% power of traditional systems). This allows for better circulation of ALL the air in your home, which is a key factor in conditioning the air.
It’s possible the air conditioner never circulates air in the furthest corners of your home, which will create pockets of heat upstairs. Multi-stage equipment is the answer to this.
Ductwork Modification
Sometimes this is as simple as adding a larger return air drop in your basement so that the proper volume of air can move throughout your ducts. This is still extra parts and labor, but represents a smaller fix than some solutions.
Other times you might have leaky or cracked ductwork that needs spot repairs or replacements.
Ductwork modification can be much more comprehensive, though.
For example, what can you do if your home has a more recent room addition, but ductwork wasn’t added to specifically move conditioned air into it? Even the best HVAC system will struggle to properly heat and cool this room without the necessary ductwork.
This is the type of job that would need to be discussed with an HVAC specialist. There’s almost always a way to accommodate your ductwork needs, but it may require specialized construction to complete.
Thermostat Sensors
Modern thermostats have all sorts of neat little features. One of the most useful can be the ability to monitor temperature in multiple locations in the home.
Traditional thermostats only monitor temperature in a single location, and this usually isn’t on a second floor. Therefore, it might be the “right” temperature downstairs but 10 degrees warmer upstairs.
By having multiple sensors (almost always with multi-stage equipment and a smart thermostat) you’re able to better control the temperature throughout the entire home.
Ductless Mini-Splits
Let’s say it’s one room in particular that’s a problem, or that you use more than the rest. Why upgrade your whole HVAC system when you can install something that will handle a single space?
Ductless mini-splits are known for their cooling capacity, but many also can provide heat too, making them useful year-round! They are generally installed to treat a specific room or area of your home, often in hard-to-reach areas for traditional HVAC like a third-floor loft or master bedroom.
They’re efficient, quiet, and can be a great addition to your home’s comfort and value.
Windows & Insulation
It’s not you, it’s me. No, this isn’t a breakup speech. It’s an admission that sometimes it’s not the HVAC but your windows and insulation that are making it difficult to stay cool upstairs.
HVAC technicians will calculate energy loss in a home when they measure for your HVAC system, and this calculation includes things like insulation and window quality. Often, these are the biggest culprits to your cooling problem.
The other solutions we’ve listed here can still help, but sometimes they’ll need to be in conjunction with non-HVAC solutions.
Ceiling Fan Installation
CABS has installed ceiling fans for many of its customers, and this can be an excellent intermediate solution when the issue is a lack of proper airflow.
While ductwork contributes to airflow, circulating air that exits duct vents is useful to properly mix the air and ensure even cooling throughout a room or area.
Window Unit ACs and Other Band-Aid Solutions
Window air conditioners are a budget option that some people will opt for. Even less expensive is setting up fans to help cool the upstairs.
These help, make no mistake. But they’re limited in what they can do.
For one, window units tend to be very noisy and inefficient compared to more sophisticated HVAC equipment. They also tend to break down more quickly than professionally-installed equipment.
More importantly, though, is that they can only cover a single room and won’t solve all of your cooling problems. Again, this can work for homes where your cooling issues upstairs are sporadic or minor. It may not be worth upgrading your whole system or going through other upgrades.
However, if you plan on being in your home for years to come, we believe it’s worth exploring options that can be more permanent fixes.
Staying Cool Throughout Your Home
The last question you should be asking yourself is “which of these options is right for me?”
The answer will vary for each household. It’s why we presented everything here as options and considerations. There’s no solution that is “best” for every home, budget, and cooling problem.
A trained HVAC professional can walk you through each of your options, though, and give you quotes on work that could be done to fix your upstairs and keep it cool throughout the year.
To get a free, no-obligation quote on a new system, ductless installation, ductwork modification or other HVAC work, give us a call here at CABS! We’re here to help you navigate these options and select the one that is best for your specific needs, without pressure or fear of doing needless work.
