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| AC Issues; (And I don't mean Alberta Crude) | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: May 26 2008, 05:41 PM (599 Views) | |
| Luke's Dad | May 26 2008, 05:41 PM Post #1 |
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Emperor Pengin
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We haven't really ran the AC in this house before now (we just moved in in November). It works fine for downstairs, but upstairs doesn't cool down much at all unless we're cranking it, at which point the downstairs is freezing. So, we either sweat to death upstairs, or freeze to death downstairs. I've checked, and all of the central air vents upstairs are open, the filter's fine. Any thoughts as to what the problem might be? |
| The problem with having an open mind is that people keep trying to put things in it. | |
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| jon-nyc | May 26 2008, 05:45 PM Post #2 |
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Cheers
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Have you checked the flux capacitor? (sorry, I can't be useful) |
| In my defense, I was left unsupervised. | |
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| Red Rice | May 26 2008, 07:07 PM Post #3 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Common problem, I think; hot air collects upstairs, so the upstairs AC has more work to do. The only solution is two separate HVAC systems for upstairs and downstairs. |
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Civilisation, I vaguely realized then - and subsequent observation has confirmed the view - could not progress that way. It must have a greater guiding principle to survive. To treat it as a carcase off which each man tears as much as he can for himself, is to stand convicted a brute, fit for nothing better than a jungle existence, which is a death-struggle, leading nowhither. I did not believe that was the human destiny, for Man individually was sane and reasonable, only collectively a fool. I hope the gunner of that Hun two-seater shot him clean, bullet to heart, and that his plane, on fire, fell like a meteor through the sky he loved. Since he had to end, I hope he ended so. But, oh, the waste! The loss! - Cecil Lewis | |
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| Mikhailoh | May 26 2008, 07:09 PM Post #4 |
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
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Close off some vents downstairs. You're blowing cool air into the downstairs while your upstairs' cool air is sinking. |
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Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball | |
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| Red Rice | May 26 2008, 07:16 PM Post #5 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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The only problem is that this means the AC cranked up all summer long just to cool the upstairs.
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Civilisation, I vaguely realized then - and subsequent observation has confirmed the view - could not progress that way. It must have a greater guiding principle to survive. To treat it as a carcase off which each man tears as much as he can for himself, is to stand convicted a brute, fit for nothing better than a jungle existence, which is a death-struggle, leading nowhither. I did not believe that was the human destiny, for Man individually was sane and reasonable, only collectively a fool. I hope the gunner of that Hun two-seater shot him clean, bullet to heart, and that his plane, on fire, fell like a meteor through the sky he loved. Since he had to end, I hope he ended so. But, oh, the waste! The loss! - Cecil Lewis | |
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| Mikhailoh | May 26 2008, 07:24 PM Post #6 |
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
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Nope. It just means you won't be freezing the downstairs to cool the upstairs. The air you blow upstairs will partially settle in the lower floor. His problem is that the downstairs cools before the upstairs does, and because the thermostat down there it thinks it has done its job. All he'll be doing is blowing proportionally more cool air into the upstairs and you will get a more even cooling. |
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Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball | |
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| Luke's Dad | May 26 2008, 07:52 PM Post #7 |
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Emperor Pengin
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Closing some of the downstairs vents was my next idea, but not for the reason Mik suggested, although that makes sense. I just figured that closing the downstairs vents would create more pressure, pushing more cool air into the upstairs. This is what I get for living most of my adult life in single story homes and apartments. |
| The problem with having an open mind is that people keep trying to put things in it. | |
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| Renauda | May 26 2008, 08:21 PM Post #8 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Can't help you. We don't have a need for AC in these parts. |
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| QuirtEvans | May 26 2008, 09:06 PM Post #9 |
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I Owe It All To John D'Oh
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The problem will get worse when the weather gets really hot. The upstairs cold air is going to sink, and the downstairs hot air will rise. Short of closing a door that segments the two floors, there's not a lot that can be done about it. Even with a dual-zone unit, hot air rises, and cold air falls. The same problem should be happening in the winter. |
| It would be unwise to underestimate what large groups of ill-informed people acting together can achieve. -- John D'Oh, January 14, 2010. | |
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| JoeB | May 27 2008, 08:49 AM Post #10 |
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Senior Carp
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Check to make sure you don't already have a dual-zone equalizer. It would be a motor controlled vent. If you have a second thermostat upstairs that doesn't appear to do anything then you probably have one. The second thermostat would open or close the vent as needed. |
| "There are many ingredients in the stew of annoyance." - Bucky Katt | |
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| Aqua Letifer | May 27 2008, 08:55 AM Post #11 |
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ZOOOOOM!
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I grew up on the second floor, so I feel your pain, man. Temperature regulation on multiple floors is truly a study of thermal fluid sciences. Here are some suggestions that might help: Close off the upstairs. Not only close the windows (which is obvious), but close the blinds and lock out the sunlight. That stuff will just zap the crap out of your cool A/C'd air. This'll turn some rooms into a cave, but if you want it to be cooler, this is pretty much a must unless you don't have much sunlight coming in. Also, fans help to spread around the AC air. What I did growing up, was to set up a box fan by my windows and pump air out on the second floor. This would pull a little bit of the cooler air into my room. This only helped because I had by far the hottest room in the house and everywhere was cooler. And a course, position everything with the understanding that heat rises, and cooler air sinks. You're going to want those two to mix if you want the house to have a uniform temperature. |
| I cite irreconcilable differences. | |
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| Frank_W | May 27 2008, 09:01 AM Post #12 |
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Resident Misanthrope
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I've got separate ac units for upstairs and down. The door at the top of the stairs stays shut. Also, make sure your attic is properly ventilated. This will help immensely. |
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Anatomy Prof: "The human body has about 20 sq. meters of skin." Me: "Man, that's a lot of lampshades!" | |
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