Hot outside, 72 downstairs, 77 upstairs, is it normal?

Question

^6 month old townhouses with bedrooms upstairs. Would it make sense to have bedrooms cooler than the rest of the house? Sleeping in a bedroom that warm a bad experience for tenants to be when you advertise central air.

Genny Li · Answer

It is normal for the upstairs to be hotter. Hot air expands and rises.  You should close vents on the bottom floor in the summer and open top ones in the winter and vice versa in the winter.

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

a) you know the upstairs is always gonna be hotter, right?

b) What @Bill Brandt said, except more specifically, the difference between the return vent and supply vents should be approx. 15 degrees. That ensures that your AC is working correctly.

But if you have only one zone the upstairs will always be warmer than the downstairs. You can possibly  use zone dampers.....ask your AC guy....

Mason Hickman · Answer

@Jeff S.

Is it one zone for the whole place? If so, heat rising is expected. We lived in a 3 floor townhouse at one point that had one zone. it was like we were pretending to be Goldilocks with the temperature difference between floors.

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

Better than the old days...or none at all...... :-)

Genny Li · Answer

Do they do sun shade screens there and will the townhouse HOA allow it? That would kill solar heat gain from windows.

But if you haven't switched the vents for summer, yeah, that's normal.

The last renters in my condo weren't bright and had the vents set all wrong.

Bill B. · Answer

Buy an infrared thermometer. Should be high 60’s coming out of vents. Have filters been changed a couple times in last 6 months? At least a chance the original filters were installed during painting/sanding. Plenty of AC warranty left, get a guy out there if incoming sir is over 70.

Jeff S. · Answer

Those are some great ideas @Bill Brandt. Thanks.

Jeff S. · Answer

Account Closed that is my style too. Cheap fix is my default solution. This place is higher end for me though, a new concept.

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

At least......

Victor S. · Answer

is there an attic where you can check how much insulation is out there? other than a/c zoning and making sure you have plenty of insulation, not much you can do. shading windows is a good idea as well.

Hot outside, 72 downstairs, 77 upstairs, is it normal?

Most Popular Reply