Help keeping second story cool

[Wes Billups]

I've had it with this house. We live in a two story house with walkout basement. This is the second summer in the house and I'm tired of getting a $400 electric bill. It wouldn't be so bad if the upstairs was cooler than 80 degrees when I go to bed at night. There's only one forced air system for the whole house and I've got all the registers in the basement closed and still can't get decent cooling upstairs. There's plenty of blown in insulation in the attic so I'm looking for what else I can do. Below are a couple of my thoughts. Let me know what would be the most effective at reducing our energy consumption and improving the comfort on the second floor.

• Reflective rolls against the underside of the roof.
  Powered attic ventilation fan.

Input is much appreciated.

Thanks,
Wes

[Jay Runde]

Instead of reflective rolls, there is also a spray that can go on the underside of the roof. I had that done in my house here in Las Vegas at the same time I had more insulation added. The attic now rarely is 10 degrees warmer than the outside temp.

You also could look at zoning your HVAC system or adding a second unit just to cool the upstairs.

[Kevin Bourque]

Check the joints in the ductwork in the basement for leaks.

[Jason Roehl]

Check your filters. Also, hang blinds and close them on the south and west sides of the house in the afternoon and evening.

[Ed Aumiller]

If it is two stories plus the basement then close registers on the lower floor so all air is forced to the second story.... the cold air will fall to the first floor and keep it cool also..
An attic fan will help lots also, just be sure you have vents in attic to draw in air and it is not drawn from the living area....
Reverse it in the winter.... open downstairs vents and close upstairs vents...

[Wes Billups]

Thanks for all the responses. The basement is finished so sealing the duckwork will be extremely difficult. I change the filter every 3 months and have all the south facing window shades pulled. No windows are on the west side of the house.

I'm thinking my major issue is radiant heat coming from the attic. Our master is on the east side of the house and with it's tray ceiling gets extremely hot. I've considered the spray foam on the underside of the roof and may look for a contractor this fall. Can't imagine too many would want to go in the attic as it's pushing 140 up there right now.

There are peak vents and soffit vents that are clear as I made sure to clear the blown insulation from the soffits when we moved in.

Thanks,
Wes

[Eduard Nemirovsky]

Wes,
I did have same problem two years ago. Same two-story house, one system, very hot in summertime. After installing reflective rolls underside my roof - dramatic difference. Temperature just 2-3 degree higher upstairs then on first floor.
Not expensive, took 4 hours for a two guys to install. But don't do it now - very hot in the attic.
Ed.

[Mike Cutler]

Wes

Same issues here a few years back. I fixed it by doing three things.
I installed an attic fan, gable vent style.
I put new insulation in the attic. We had blown in insulation also. Sorry, imho it's junk! It compacts over time and loses it's ability to function properly.
Cooled the downstairs. You won't cool the second story if the first story isn't cool.

Good luck.

PS.
House is 2000. sq/ft, and with the highest electric rates in the US my electric bill was $177 this month, and the AC ha s been running daily,and nightly.

[Robert McGowen]

When we built our two-story house, I put a door at the top of the stairs specifically to help with cooling the upstairs. As hot air rises, all of the hot air from the entire house will end up in the upstairs area. It is a habit for everyone to close the door at the top of the stairs now. You can really feel the difference, as the air at the top of the stairwell might be 10 degrees or more warmer than the downstairs air.

[Rich Engelhardt]

We have a 4 bedroom split level. Three bedrooms are on the upper floor and the 4th is a guest room off the half sunken family room.
My wife and I used to move into the guest room for the Summer.

[Jerome Stanek]

can you put a inline booster fan to your duct to your bedroom

[Phil Thien]

Turn the furnace/AC blower on, and leave it on. Don't run it on auto.

Running the blower 24/7 will: (1) Equalize the temperature throughout your house. (2) Keep your air cleaner.

I know some people out there are thinking it will use too much electricity (it doesn't use that much power, these are typically 1/4 to 1/3-HP motors), or cause premature failure of the motor. When I moved into my home, the existing blower motor was a pain to access and as a result I didn't add oil to the oil ports as often as I should have. So it did only last about four years under constant duty.

So I replaced it with a high-quality, American-made permanently sealed BB motor (about $100) and it has been running ever since (12 years). I also redid the layout in the basement so if I need to get into the blower, I could do it very easily now.

[Gary Max]

They make a product called Double Bubble Double foil------ will pay for itself the first year. If you have the space whole house fans really kick butt.

[Myk Rian]

I retired from Ford, and our department pretty much perfected the process of balancing the paint ovens. The company had us traveling all over the country getting the ovens working properly.

Balancing air flow involves closing off the air closest to the source (furnace), and opening it up farther down the line. Works the same for supply and return air.

We have a Tri-level and it stayed warm upstairs. For a test, I covered the upstairs return air registers except for a couple inches left open. That forced more of the return air down-stairs, and gave a better mix.
Then I turned the fan on all the time. That kept the air moving, and also added to the air mixing.
It worked very well, especially during the 100 deg days we had recently.

[ray hampton]

one fact is being ignored, the color of your roof, a dark roof will increase the temperature inside, if you install a white foil in the attic to reflect the heat back thru. the roof, will this lower the whole house temperature ?