Need Ideas on Redirecting Airflow

During the summer, it is very hot on the third level of our house while the rest of the house is cold. We have done the basics and closed the vents in the basement and on the second level, but still it is very hot on the third level. And even though the vents are closed on the second level, we can still feel the air coming through the vents. Some of the vents are on the ceiling, while others are on the floor. We have not found any magnet covers that are strong enough to hold to the vents on the ceiling.

Any recommendations on how to redirect the air flow so that the third level is not very hot while the rest of the house is very cold?

 

Are you in a townhouse? I'm thinking you are with a single ac unit....
If so, typically there are dampers in the duct work that you can close some/all the way to redirect the airflow into the ducts that serve the area you want. You can reverse this in the winter to direct more of the heat downstairs.
That help?

 

Thanks, but we are in a SF. Does the same thing apply?

 

So if you are in a SF then you should have 2 AC units correct? If not, this sounds like a problem.... I would not expect 1 unit to work efficiently across 3 floors. How much square footage do you have total and by level? Do you know more about your unit like its size/capability?

Do you have adequate cooling on the first 2 levels? What temps are you able to get? Could be that your coolant level is low. You make it sound like the variations in temps are pretty dramatic?

 

How do you get to them? One of my children's rooms is over the garage and its always much warmer than the rest of the rooms on the second floor. (We are in a SF and do have two a/c units.) I'd like to push more cooling into his room. I'm thinking those dampers you're talking about are my solution, but I'm not sure where they are or how to get to them. Thanks!

 

highly recommend getting an attic fan. it made a world of difference in our house!

 

msque - 1 or 2 units? I would think if for some reason you only have one unit then there are probably dampers, but in a 2 unit house I dont think they put the dampers in.

sharse - doubt u have dampers in a 2 unit house - only thing u might be able to do is shut some of the the vents to force more air towards the open vent.

c&r - did u have someone local do it? I keep debating whether or not to put one in - at this point im sure it will be at least the fall before it gets cool enough for someone to work up there.

 

You can reduce the temperature in the garage by insulating it (if you can), then if the garage is not as hot ,then your son's room will not get as hot. Another idea is to get the 3M films on the windows, cuts down on the heat transfer from outside.

 

With a 2-unit house there are no dampers. If you try to find them on a unit, they would be located in the duct near the unit (inside) and there is a lever that should be labeled like open or closed, or summer/winter. As the season changes, you push the handle to adjust the damper.

If there is a room above the garage, then the garage ceiling would have to be insulated to pass code. One of my guesses would be that the room above the garage may be at the end of the run of the duct and is last on the rooms serviced by that unit. And yes, an attic fan can help and is a really good idea in general. Just make sure that it is thermostatically controlled (which I think most are) so that it comes on automatically.

Those magnetic covers are usually a good idea - once you close the vent, and put that on, it should work.

 

Square footage is about 3300, but there is only one unit. We will look to see if there are dampers.

Thanks all for the suggestions.

 

Our solution: was have the HVAC units run the fan (at all times) and the AC kicks on when needed. Since we have 2 units this what we did: Set the lower unit to 75 and the upper unit to 70. Also we installed ceiling fans in a few rooms and change the direction of the blades (based on the season). I agree about the attic fan...we just haven't gotten around to it. Best of luck

 

yea ceiling fans are a real plus in my opinion too..

so if you have one unit then you should have two main "branches" in your duct work. Most likely there is one that will branch off and service the lower 2 levels and one branch that would service the top level. So under this example you should have 2 dampers, one for each branch of duct work. Again, the dampers will be located near the furnace in the utility room, within about the first 2-5 feet of duct work.

If you do not have 2 dampers then you need to get one added - so that way you can control flow to all levels. The idea is in the summer, almost close the damper for the first 2 levels and open the top - and then do the reverse in the winter. You will have to play with them to see the affect on temps. I went through this drill a couple of years ago (in a different house) and found that it did make a difference, noticable but not dramatic - but it was worth the effort.

 

msque - im curious now - how old is your house, builder, model, etc.. With 3300 seems really odd that you dont have 2units.

 

beahmer,

The house was built in 1997, but I do not know which company built it. Maybe we will double-check to see if we have 2 units. I am pretty sure we only have one...sorry, just moved into it and don't know all the stats.

 

No problem - it did seem odd for a larger house but maybe back then they didnt. You would have two thermostats if you had two units - one upstairs (master bedroom area) and one downstairs someplace.
If not I would definately check for the damper and redirect more flow upstairs.
Good Luck!!

 

Thanks, beahmer.

 

Regarding attic fans:

We do have an attic fan, but during our home inspection, the inspector told us that it's really overkill since we have soffit and ridge vents. It's been shut down since we moved in. But I assume that everyone who posted in favor of attic fans also has vents, so what differences are you seeing with the fan in use? Does the AC run less frequently or for less time?

 

oh my, the inspector told you that????? What an idiot. It never hurts to use the attic fan.

WOW... I really can't believe a home inspector told you that. My father is a home inspector.

WOW

 

We are living in 1 unit/TH. There appear to be two sets of dampers near our unit. One is facing the door to the HVAC room, the other is facing the the back wall out of reach. Is this normal in construction to have the dampers facing opposite ways?

Short of cutting a hole in the wall on the other side of the HVAC room to access the dampers which our home inspector suggested, I'm hoping someone might have a solution to this. Thanks.

 

3300 with one AC unit? all the townhouses around me are about that sq footage---a little less-and they have 2 AC units. I didn't get the bumpout, which put me around 2700 sq ft---therefore my lil' ol AC has to cool the whole house himself. i think they threw in a 5 ton unit though...which worked fine this summer.

I have to adjust the dampers--which should be clearly marked coming out of your furnace. when you find the furnace---look up. there'll be little "levers" (for lack of a better word) that adjust left to right---they open/close the airflow. the trick is finding out what supplies the upper floor and what supplies the lower levels...