Upstairs A/C Options --> Hot

We've struggled with this in our prior home and now in this home. Our upstairs get stifling hot in the summer months & understandably so. I'd hate to see how hot it get's if we removed some of the large oaks providing shade to the house (which I planned on doing at some point).

To compensate and get a half decent nights sleep we drop the central air A/C down throughout the night on a schedule and have fans in the rooms. It does ok, but I know how inefficient that is cooling the entire house down like that just to make the upstairs cool enough to sleep.

Looking at some possible options and solutions that might work best. Roughly 2000 sqf home, 4 bedrooms upstairs. I could certainly just stick some inexpensive window units in each of the 4 bedrooms, raise the AC at night so it's not running and I just might do that but wanted to investigate some other options.

Mini split AC has been mentioned and 2 zone AC as well. I do have a large walk up attic that probably isn't doing me any favors but could easily house a condenser with easy access to bedrooms for duct work. It also could use more insulation as well.

Just thinking out loud, probably not in a financial position to tackle anything beside 4 window units. Not sure if anyone else struggles with this and has implemented something to combat it.

Thanks in advance!!!

 

We rock the window shakers as well. Mini split system would be nice but not in the budget here either.

 

Get the equivalent of r-60 in the attic to start. It'll help in the winter too.

Edit: maybe an attic fan too.

 

ReelFaster do you have a basement? A and a chase way?

best cheapest thing I saw was 4 inch pipe from basement to upstairs with a fan reverse fan in winter
Here basement’s stay 62-68

 

We have a cape cod with upstairs as one big open bedroom...I addressed the heating/cooling issues up there like this...1st was to insulate the attic walls better (attic on both sides and above) and then the ceiling too...that took a lil work!
Then I put a roof fan in to pull more air through the attic area when its hot (tstat controlled) which really limits how much the upstairs bedroom heats up during the day! The window unit only gets run for an hour or so before bed, and then overnight...doesn't seem to impact the power bill much at all.
This makes it easy for the small window unit to cool the whole room up there, and keeps the whole house unit from running nearly as much...when its really hot out the main AC might kick on every 4 hrs or so.
Doing all this was some work (DIY) but really not that much $.

 

Window AC's would probably be the cheapest and quickest short solution to start with. I don't remember the house you are in, but be mindful if you have old wiring or newer wiring in the room plug.

I've heard a bit of positive talk in various places about the window AC's that have the "U" in them so the window can close most of the way. I don't remember the brand but I don't think it is the squarish one at HD.

As wildwest said, the portable AC's aren't as efficient and transfer some heat back into the room. HOwever, I had a 12k unit for my living room and it did pretty good - also dealt well with humidity. The unit I got (it was used off CL) also had a heat feature so it was handy to take the chill out of a room if I left windows open too soon. The portable unit was actually the best option for my living room as it was easy to move out of the way and/or remove the equipment from the window so I could let in cool air at night.

I do love my mini split and it is cheaper to run than when I had the 12k BTU portable in the living room and 5k btu window AC in the office. Although that can get expensive if you need a head in each of the 4 rooms. They do make DIY models if you are comfortable with that. And, you could always get an outdoor unit that can handle 4 heads, and just put in 1 or 2 heads at a time (depending on your needs and air movement up there, that might work). Most (although you need to make sure when buying) can also double as heating appliances. The lower outside temp you want it to heat at, the more expensive it is of course.

 

If you’re on a budget just throw a couple window shakers in. If you’re worried about the electric bill check out on if the inverter window units from Midea. They are super quiet (like 42 db quiet!) and efficient in a window unit. It’s basically a mini split window unit.

if your budget allows have an hvac pro out and install the most efficient central unit you can afford in the attic. They should also be able to advise you how much insulation to add in your attic.

 

Roof fans work.

How about a window fan in upstairs window to release the heat and pull cooler air up? Growing up a buddy's parents had a 'whole house' fan above their hallway. I was super impressed with how well it worked. Open the windows and have a felt breeze coming in from all of them. They had AC also but didn't need to use it often.

 

When I moved into my current house 14 years ago, there was an ugly ceiling fan at the top of the foyer that I said we would be removing. First hot day in the house, the upstairs was about 5-8 degrees warmer than the first floor. In that moment, I realized what that ugly ceiling fan was for. Since then, that fan runs 24/7 from the first 80iah degree day until the last. This keeps the upstairs only 2-3 degrees warmer than the first floor.

 

We have an attic fan, but come to think of it I have to check to make sure it's functionating.

 

Thanks everyone, awesome awesome info! Much appreciated!!

 

I do have a basement but no chase way that I am aware of.

 

We had the same problem. Attic insulation and added a duct booster to the upstairs run along with balancing the duct flow throughout the house fixed it. Something like this:
TerraBloom ECMF-200, Quiet 8" Inline Duct Fan with 0-100% Variable Speed Controller, Air Tight Metal Casing, Energy Efficient EC Motor. HVAC, Growing and Exhaust Applications Blower for Large Spaces: Amazon.com: Tools & Home Improvement

 

A chase could be through a closet.

 

This^^

also the cheapest thing to do first is insulation.
check your basement temperature and 2nd floor temperature.. see difference in temperatures and report back

 

An area behind a wall for wires, plumbing lines, heat and AC lines to hide them from view

 

I did it with 3 inch PVC in a home and put a computer fan in pipe and covered ends with white dust filters hooked up to a regular light switch.. in summer blew 68 degree air to my bedroom.
In winter switch fan other way; blow 64 degree air to bedroom
Before wood stove; oil furnace heat set to 45.. basement does not need heat (ground thermal heat) I was broke.. working all time