House heats upstairs lots better than down?

[ezbtr]

We've been in this house for 5 yrs, it ALWAYS is real toasty in winter upstairs but not down stairs, I realize heat goes up, but this weird. Filter chgd. regularly. Read something saying maybe this was installed incorrect from get go? As in furnace is DUCTED wrong so all heat goes upstairs? Any coments would be great. Also central AC stinks, doesnt really work. House is approx. 30 yr old, stucco exterior, SINGLE pane orig. windows. Heinz

 

[Boomyal]

Re: House heats upstairs lots better than down?

Check with your local utility. They may have a free efficiency analysis program. If any mods are required they also may offer some good financing programs.

 

[mattttt25]

Re: House heats upstairs lots better than down?

could be lots of things. many houses are this way. do you know how many zones you have? number of thermostats usually equals number of zones. i'm guessing one, with the only thermostat downstairs. if this is the case, not much you can do without major expense.<br /><br />in any event, in the winter, you should have all your upstairs vents closed (or close to closed) and downstairs vents open. heat will originate from downstairs and flow up.<br /><br />in the summer, reverse- open upstairs, close downstairs. cold air will originate from upstairs and flow down.<br /><br />good luck-

 

[ezbtr]

Re: House heats upstairs lots better than down?

Thanks guys, I'll make sure all vents closed first and go from there, Thanks, Heinz

 

[Xcusme]

Re: House heats upstairs lots better than down?

You might want to consider reading this Balance... , and sites like this one.<br />Your problem can be as simple as a matter of adjusting the air flow , via dampers at the furnace plenum to balance the amount of heated air to the 2 floors.

 

[mellowyellow]

Re: House heats upstairs lots better than down?

best/most effective way to constrict airflow is<br />to lessen the size of upstairs air output. easy<br />as reducing heat vents from 4" to 2". I use a<br />magnetic/flexible cover to do it with a hole cut<br />out... best part is I can pull it off this summer<br />easy when convection is working the opposite and<br />it's tuff to cool upstairs. <br />having 12' ceilings makes one learn this crud. LOL<br />good luck,<br />M.Y.

 

[rogerwa]

Re: House heats upstairs lots better than down?

Tuning the vents as previously mentioned makes a huge difference. You have to know which vents are connected to each other and the releative impact. Its not as easy as opening the 1st floor and closing the second. I have two main vents that empty inot my LR and then upstairs each one goes to a different room. If the downstairs vents are open too far, it will flood the room with heat and cut off the thermostat. The same vent upstairs needs to be openned fully to heat the larger room upstairs.<br /><br />Also, pay attention to the cycling of your furnace. If you notice that it comes on for only a short bit of time and then shuts off, then your furnace may be too big for your house and not heating it properly. This also shortens the life of your furnace. A couple years ago, I replace my 85,000 BTU high efficiency furnace with a dual speed 65000 BTU 90+ efficiency furnace and it has no trouble keeping up the -20 F weather we have had. The constant cycling of our old furnace eventually killed it..

 

[WoodRust]

Re: House heats upstairs lots better than down?

All 'forced air' heating systems have 'air-duct levers' to re-direct heat or air-conditioning. You know this. I know this. Many here know this. <br /><br />Just like your DVD whine (buy a new DVD player) this thread is a waste of time too. Take the previous advise above and hire some one to fix the 'vents'.<br /><br />Non-Issue!

 

[ezbtr]

Re: House heats upstairs lots better than down?

Originally posted by WoodRust:<br />All 'forced air' heating systems have 'air-duct levers' to re-direct heat or air-conditioning. You know this. I know this. Many here know this. <br /><br />Just like your DVD whine (buy a new DVD player) this thread is a waste of time too. Take the previous advise above and hire some one to fix the 'vents'.<br /><br />Non-Issue!

Well excuse the hell outta me? Don't get your panties in a knot! Or even better just don't answer if you've got nothing constructive to say. Gee...hmmm... before I toss a DVD, hmmm oh golly gee, lets see if theres an easy quick fix someone else may ****ing know about. And yeah I know bout vents but Im not an HVAC ****in expert. Again, I'll choose to ask folks IF they have a better idea, great. KMA. Heinz

 

[Xcusme]

Re: House heats upstairs lots better than down?

Woodrust,<br /><br />FYI, not All forced air heating systems have air duct levers. Some have dampers in the plenum's or on the wall/ceiling outlets, some don't. Not everyone knows this, some do , some don't.<br /><br />Just because you have an opinion about a gentlemens question is no reason to call his plea for advice a Non-Issue. Replying as you did, implies a condescending attitude, not only to the question at hand , but to everyone who took the time to respond with a possible solution to the problem. Try not to be so heavy handed in your replies, you too may be here seeking help and opinions. You'll find most folks here are more than willing to lend a helping hand , but you first must learn not to bite that hand, in the first place.<br /><br />Have a great day, and welcome to Iboats.

 

[JasonJ]

Re: House heats upstairs lots better than down?

Dang Woodrust, you must really want to make a whole mess o' friends don't ya....11 whole posts and your bustin this poor guys ballbag. Not cool....

 

[ezbtr]

Re: House heats upstairs lots better than down?

Now the little dip**** got me goin......yeah I work on my OWN cars, house, boat,appiliances, woodwork, kids, by myself/with or without help ,myself....geee..how the hell do ya learn things if ya dont ask/read the manual? Duh! someone else ALWAYS knows more. Oh yes and I do all this to #1. LEARN #2. SAVE MONEY #3Know enough to maybe HELP someone else out #3 get the satisfaction of LEARNING AND DOING IT MYSELF. <br />All of the above I WOULDN'T know if I DIDN'T ask/have someone teach me/read the manual. You would be well advised to think before you COMPLAIN /type or speak. God help you if a person like YOU were ever on my worksite. Heinz

 

[eurolarva]

Re: House heats upstairs lots better than down?

Interesting title Woodrust. Hmm. Because of people like woodrust threads get poofed. I bet you got picked on a lot in school and now is your chance for pay back. There is a lot of good information in this thread that lots of people could use but because of your rude comment and the retaliation of others this post will probably go poof

 

[ezbtr]

Re: House heats upstairs lots better than down?

my thoughts exactly.......he musta got **** kicked outta him lots and prob. still does. Too all you GREAT NORMAL GUYS, Thanks as usual for great comments, Heinz

 

[JoeW]

Re: House heats upstairs lots better than down?

Heinz,<br />My brother-in-law owned an older two story stucco in Concord (I think it was Turtle Creek). Anyway, he had the exact same problem. Never could heat or cool that house right.

 

[nailbender2155]

Re: House heats upstairs lots better than down?

well, the heat is going to creep up the stairs no matter what you do. my friend had the same problem and what he did was to put a door on the second floor near the staircase. sometimes you can put a door at the beginning of the staircase. after that we fiddled with the vents,, and it worked out pretty well. a lot of the heat began to stay on the first floor.

 

[nailbender2155]

Re: House heats upstairs lots better than down?

I forgot to add that a slow moving ceiling fan also helps to get the heat down to table level. let it spin just enough to move the heat in a circular pattern from ceiling to floor.

 

[ezbtr]

Re: House heats upstairs lots better than down?

Originally posted by joew94th:<br />Heinz,<br />My brother-in-law owned an older two story stucco in Concord (I think it was Turtle Creek). Anyway, he had the exact same problem. Never could heat or cool that house right.

Yeah, I actually think the heaters they put in the 2 stories(same as single stories) are kinda borderline for performance + their 30 + yrs old. I'm just gonna try to do as much as I can to cheaply improve. Heinz

 

[ezbtr]

Re: House heats upstairs lots better than down?

Originally posted by nailbender2155:<br />I forgot to add that a slow moving ceiling fan also helps to get the heat down to table level. let it spin just enough to move the heat in a circular pattern from ceiling to floor.

yup I love ceiling fans, got one in kitchen and works well, also installed one at inlaws in Fresno upstairs, was a god send in summer there! I may install one upstairs in my house too. The onlt thing is, we rent this house for now, old lady doesn't jack up rent and I fix all - kinda a trade off , I've redone some plumbing, rebuilt side and rear fence/gate, fert./reseed front and back yards, installed newer full kitchen range, newer dishwasher, but it's doesnt cost me much, mostly labor. I try to put as little $ into it as poss.

 

[ED21]

Re: House heats upstairs lots better than down?

Did the A/C ever work? If so your unit may be low on refrigerant or if it is leaking to much may need to be replaced. <br />I agree something is not balanced or sized properly. Does your system have proper air returns downstairs.<br />One other thought is to check ducts for obstructions or poorly fitted connections.