Upstairs Air Conditioner in VM SFH

Happy Summer! This is the second summer we have been in our VM Sinclair, and I am a little concerned about the power of the upstairs air conditioner. It doesn't seem to do very well on these hot days, and appears to be struggling to keep up with a 72 stetting already at noon. I'm not sure that the smaller unit, which currently serves the upstairs is big enough for the rising heat, but I figured the bigger unit is has to cover the main floor and basement (ours is unfinished). Does this sound right? Do others have a similar problem?

I think this may have been discussed before, but I can't find the thread. Sorry.

Pam D.

 

your going to need to keep the upstairs a few degrees cooler than the main/basement floors. Generally the upstairs thermostat is in the large open areas. Ours is at least, and while the bedrooms are usually around 72 the thermostat is stuck trying to keep up and is constantaly running cause it thinks the whole floor is 75. I'd set the main floor at around 72 and the upstairs at around 75. Otherwise you'll be constantly running.

I rambled but I think you get the idea

Good luck

 

Totally agree.

A couple of other things that we have found useful: (1) On super-hot days, it is amazing how much less the AC needs to run if you keep your window blinds/shades closed. While the inside is a bit dark, it certainly saves on the energy bill and makes things much more comfortable. (2) Regarding the upstairs, make certain that you keep the doors to the rooms open when the AC is running. Because the intake vents upstairs are not in every room, you need to keep the doors open in the bedrooms to keep the air moving and maintain good, cool airflow. If a door is closed, it blocks airflow thus preventing that room from getting the same cool air as other rooms. In our case, this holds true in each of the bedrooms except the master bedroom (which has its own intake vent).

 

Also .. if you did not have VM install an attic exhaust fan, you should have one installed. You should also check to insure that there is enough insulation in the attic.

I realize that it is after your 1 year period, we had them come in at the move-in walkthru because their contractor did not put the required thinkness of 'blown in' insulation in the attic.

Anything that relieves the amount of heat accumulating in the attic, as well as keeps that heat from seeping into the second floor will help.



Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

If you do have an attic fan make sure it works I need to get up into the attic and check on mine myself. Didn't expect these incredibly hot days so soon...

 

I got the attic fan option in the Cedarwood model. My husband popped up there to check it and couldnt even find it. Does anyone know if it is supposed to be immediately obvious?

 

Another factor is if your garage is un-finished and resides below any part of the upstairs. If it is un-finished it will be hotter in the summer and colder in the winter. At worst, put up some insulation.

It is really bad in our master bedroom on hot days as the garage is directly below. Reminder to self - put up some insulation in the garage SOON!

 

Thu,

The fan should be obvious. It will be pretty close to the top of the roof line. It should also be roughly a foot wide and circular. If you have a fan there should also be a thermostat for it somewhere. Mine is located right above my furnace in the attic.

 

And if I recall, we had to remind them to put the attic fan in during one of our walkthroughs (otherwise they would have forgotten.

BTW - my A/C has only got the upstairs to 75. Not really acceptable in my eyes. This certainly will not be the hottest day of the year... Humbug.


Pam D.

 

Same thing here. We had to send a nasty gram to vm to make sure they put in the attic fan.

 

Pam -- is 75 the actual temp in the separate rooms or the reading on the hallway thermostat? As Lostsoul mentioned above, the hallway thermostat reading may not be an accurate reading of actual room temperature due to the flow of heat from the lower level. You may want to get a reading in the separate rooms -- it will likely be lower.

 

Out thermostat is actually just inside the master BR. I don't have a very good thermometer, but the thermostat is only a degree off, and there is maybe a degree or two difference between there and other places upstairs.

The installers came out this morning and charged the system. He said it was a little low, probably because it wasn't very hot when they charged it last spring. It doesn't seem to be helping much today, but we will see.

It still seems to me that I should be able to get my house down to 72 for bedtime with a brand new system, especially when it hasn't been THAT hot for this area. It's not as much an issue about the system running all the time (although I hate those electric bills!), but the fact that it should be cooler. Teaches me to buy a big, energy inefficient house!

On a side note (and maybe for the other thread), I wonder why VM makes attic fans an upgrade? In this area it is really neccessary. They seem to include a lot of other stuff in the base price...


Pam D.

 

Even though we got one .. we had the same thought process as it was little silly for them to nickel and dime their customers for this item .. considering how many things were included with the base price...

 

Just had the HVAC whitman guys come over for my AC start and check. Also had Van Metre guy Kenny come by as well for the attic fan.

The good news, i have an attic fan..Just cant see if from the attic.

The bad news, they dont have a switch for it. I have two switches labelled light instead of light and fan switch. This is going on my 60 day report, and kenny said an electrician has to wire it.

NICE JOB VAN METRE(SARCASM!)