Central AC doesn't help cool the upstairs floor
By Lena Kovadlo
@lovebuglena (44716)
Staten Island, New York
June 18, 2018 4:31pm CST
I live in a four-story house. There are three floors and one basement. When the central AC is on in these hot temps, it seems to work all day. It will reach the set temperature, stop for a few minutes, and then start again. And it's like that the entire day, which is very annoying when I am home the whole day.
When the AC is on, the basement and first floor are nice and cool, the second floor is manageable but the third floor is hot and stuffy. No matter how long the central AC works, or on what temperature it's set, it does next to nothing to cool the third floor down. It seems like a waste of money to let it run all day when the upstairs is not cooled down to a pleasant state. But if the AC is off the second floor becomes unbearable.
I wonder if there is something that can be done to help cool the upstairs. And I wonder why the central AC doesn't work up there the way it should. Any ideas?
6 people like this
6 responses
@popciclecold (39461)
• United States
18 Jun 18
I have never know anyone with a four story house, I am sure someone here may be able to help.
1 person likes this
@popciclecold (39461)
• United States
18 Jun 18
@lovebuglena Well, all I can say is I hope you find a solution.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (44716)
• Staten Island, New York
18 Jun 18
Counting the basement it's a four-story house. But maybe it's not supposed to be counted.
1 person likes this
@sprite1950 (30452)
• Corsham, England
19 Jun 18
Most properties over here don't have air conditioning because our climate is cool a lot of the time. It must be horrible if the air conditioning doesn't work where you need it although I'm afraid I don't know much about it.
@sprite1950 (30452)
• Corsham, England
20 Jun 18
@lovebuglena That must be annoying. My hot water makes a terrible noise when I first turn it on. It works ok though.
@lovebuglena (44716)
• Staten Island, New York
20 Jun 18
@sprite1950 The main bathroom is up on the third floor. When it's very hot up there I hate going into the shower there because after I get out it's too hot and I start sweating. Makes me want to go back into the shower again.
Yesterday, I decided to try showering in the basement shower. Nice and cool there but the shower stall is not that big and I am not a fan of the shower head. Showering there is not something I enjoy, but at least I don't sweat when I get out, so that is a plus.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (44716)
• Staten Island, New York
19 Jun 18
It is terrible. The upstairs is not a great place to be even with the AC on all day. And when it works all day it drives me crazy because it's very loud.
1 person likes this
@AKRao24 (27424)
• India
18 Jun 18
Possibly because of the direct sunlight hitting the roof or terrace the roof of that floor gets heated up and may be with more glass window panes you can have this problem as the sunlight trapped in heats up the room terribly! This problem is seen at all places where the terrace is directly open to the sun and the floor is exposed to Sunlight! Thanks!
@lovebuglena (44716)
• Staten Island, New York
18 Jun 18
The bathroom and the hall on that floor both have skylights. The conditions in the smaller bedroom are better than in the master bedroom. Maybe because the smaller bedroom has the lower ceiling.
1 person likes this
@AKRao24 (27424)
• India
19 Jun 18
@lovebuglena , yes that could be the reason ! Thanks!
1 person likes this
@louievill (28851)
• Philippines
18 Jun 18
Has it always been this way or has it gradually become what it is now? How old is your unit? Ducts get clogged overtime and filters get dirty. Long ductings make it harder for cool air to reach up and hot air has the tendency to rise so naturally upper floors are hotter. You may also like to consider installing exhaust fans in the upper floors to blow hot air out when AC is not running.
@lovebuglena (44716)
• Staten Island, New York
18 Jun 18
The AC was replaced I believe last year. We always change the filter when the thermostat says 'change filter'. if a duct can get clogged how do we know it's clogged and how do we unclog them?Also, what are exhaust fans? Are they different from ceiling fans?
@louievill (28851)
• Philippines
18 Jun 18
@lovebuglena clogged ductings would probably need professional help in my opinion especially if it's not blowing cool air as it should be, what you are having there is " imbalanced air circulation.
Ceiling fans obviously are fans that hang on the ceiling, exhaust fans are fans that blow air out, from the room going out, they could be located and embeded on ceilings or walls and the motors run in reverse.
@lovebuglena (44716)
• Staten Island, New York
19 Jun 18
@louievill Thanks for the clarification. Never heard of exhaust fans.
@caopaopao (12395)
• China
19 Jun 18
I haven't used the central air conditioner. I don't know how it works. I'm sorry. I hope your problem can be solved quickly.
@caopaopao (12395)
• China
19 Jun 18
@lovebuglena That sounds strange. Is it useless to install a new air conditioner directly on the third floor?
@lovebuglena (44716)
• Staten Island, New York
22 Jun 18
@caopaopao I am not sure if we can install one into the window. And if we get a floor one I am not sure if we are allowed to put the pipe (or whatever it's called) out to the window. Not sure if our association allows it.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (44716)
• Staten Island, New York
19 Jun 18
Thanks. This has been going on for many years. Even installing a new AC didn't help.
1 person likes this
@NJChicaa (120059)
• United States
19 Jun 18
Heat rises. Unless you have multiple thermostats/zones, the AC is going to run based on wherever the thermostat is which is probably the 1st floor. If I were you I'd get a window unit for the 3rd floor to help cool it off. They are cheap and not that expensive to run.
@lovebuglena (44716)
• Staten Island, New York
19 Jun 18
The thermostat is on the second floor. And the room where the heater, water heater, etc. are is on the first floor. I am not sure if we are allowed to insert ACs into windows here. Plus, our windows open to the side not up so not sure how that would work.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (44716)
• Staten Island, New York
22 Jun 18
@NJChicaa I am not sure if we have an attic. At least I see nothing on the ceiling anywhere that would indicate an attic.
1 person likes this
@NJChicaa (120059)
• United States
19 Jun 18
@lovebuglena You are always going to have a struggle with the 3rd floor, due to heat rising and the skylights. An AC unit would be my solution but it may not work in your situation. I don't know that an exhaust fan (aka "attic fan" or "whole house fan") would help much either. We have one and it is AMAZING for our ranch. Expecting it to help cool off 3-stories might be a bit much.
