Temperature way too hot upstairs during summer | GTAMotorcycle.com

Temperature way too hot upstairs during summer

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markm

Active member
Home owner (semi), this summer decided to do something about temperature way too hot upstairs. Climbed to the attic, typical, wide open space, no flooring, just joyces (not sure the spelling), some fluffy stuff )insulation) not much of it though.

Here's my idea:
- buy more insulation (pink stuff or whatever home depot recommends)
- lay it down
- buy those cheap wood floor panels (I think they're $6 a peace (8 foot by 6 foot, I think)
- screw those to the floor in the attic

Will this help from heat radiating to the bedrooms?
 
Do you have an a/c over there? If it's not doing his job, you should get a mechanic to take a look at the system. Could be the ductwork (tinbashers don't come cheap, but if they do the job right, they're your best investment), could be a leak in the system (fix or maybe even go for a full re&re depending on the source of the leak), or if you don't have central a/c, you may wanna look into slapping an a-coil/condenser retrofit to your current system. If all you have is a hydronic system, you can go with those ductless mini-splits or just get windowshakers if you wanna go ghetto.
 
Crushing insulation kills it's ability insulate. Keep insulation light and fluffy forget about floor. The word is "joists"
Open a window at one end and blow fan inward......open another window have fan blow outward. Close windows during day open all at night.
 
Kool said:
Crushing insulation kills it's ability insulate. Keep insulation light and fluffy forget about floor. The word is "joists"
Open a window at one end and blow fan inward......open another window have fan blow outward. Close windows during day open all at night.
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One trick from my grandma who spent a couple of decades in northern Africa.. Open the windows on the shady side and close the blinds on the sunny side. Remember that they will be different at different times of day.
 
Everyone missed step one, check to that your furnace is balanced, there are dampers in the ducts below the registers and at the main branch between upstairs and main floor, adjust these and you will alter air flow to the room or floor as needed.

After that, there are several ways to ensure air circulation. There is a switch on the thermostat that says on/auto/off. Turn it on and leave it. This will keep air circulating regardless of whether you have a/c. Any relatively new home (15 years or so) also has a primary ventilation fan. This is the switch close to the t-stat that turns on the fan in you main washroom. No one ever knows what it's for. The fan in question is a larger fan than the other washrooms have. It is required by code to be in place for this type of scenario. It will help evacuate warm air. Best left on during the day and turned off at night.

If you have an older home, the same principles apply, whether you have a/c or not.
 
Yamaha_Gurl said:
You do know that hot air rises right?
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True but heat also travels by radiation and conductance. The hot attic heats the ceiling of the room below and that radiates downwards to whatever is below. Radiant ceiling heat was very popular.

As noted, packing insulation doesn't usually help. Adding more ventilation to the attic might help a tad and adding fluffy insulation won't hurt.

Do people still use waterbeds? They are supposed to keep you cool by conducting your body heat away.
 
The problem is the lack of attic insulation. Heat is escaping into the attic during winter, and radiating into the living space during the summer. You need to increase the insulation to give you an R value of around 60. Get some estimates on having it blown in.We had it done to our 3 level depression-era house that was almost un-sleepable upstairs during the summer months. We also installed some attic vents and turbines. Cost was less than a grand but made a massive difference in living conditions.
 
I haven't had to use A/C for the past week or two.

Just turn on the fan full time if you have forced air ventilation, and close/open the ducts so that all the air exits at the top floor, and circulates downwards towards the basement. This will help.

Also, open the windows whenever it's cooler outside than inside (mostly at night). During the day close the windows and also close all blinds/shutters/drapes in south facing windows.

Also, avoid cooking hot meals as much as possible. Every little bit helps.
 
I calculated my furnace blower to cost over $40 a month by running continuously. I purchased a programmable thermostat that had a blower timer option. Runs for 15 min every hour unless called for by heat or cooling. It adds up over a few years, and it didn't affect the comfort level. Attic insulation is still the biggest bang for the buck when it's lacking.
 
Regardless if you have A/C or not, think about getting (a) ceiling fan(s) to help circulate the air. We have these in our current house and it helps to keep the rooms cooler.

The other tips are all really good, too. I would only add that if you have drapes, instead of blinds, then get "sun blocker" drapes, which are a double-layered and help prevent a room from getting so hot from the sun in the first place. VERY worth the extra money!
 
I have this problem too in my townhouse, and I do as fastar suggested and close all the vents except those upstairs so that the cool air is forced to enter the top floor and then comes downstairs. Even then I find too much of a temp difference, so I find that opening the bedroom window at night and using the ceiling fan works well. I can't think of much worse than trying to sleep when it's too bloody hot. Not sure how I survived those years in an apartment.
 
We used to use an attic fan. This was a big, 3 foot fan in the ceiling between the top floor and the attic. It would blow air into the attic. Open windows downstairs, in the shade, close all upstairs windows (during the day, when you're downstairs). Fan would suck cool air in through the open windows, and blow it up through the attic, removing stagnant hot attic air. Worked great. On hot nights, open the bedroom windows, close all others.
 
buy a couple of celing fans for the upstairs, turn on any vent fans in the bathroom(s) upstairs, and turn on the fan to your furnace on.

You need to move the air around and circulate it.

I bought a powerful bathroom vent and placed it on a dimmer switch and it made a big difference in my bedroom.

Also to make sure your house is 'breathing' properly, your attic should be a lot hotter than your house on warmer days.
 
DJM said:
The problem is the lack of attic insulation. Heat is escaping into the attic during winter, and radiating into the living space during the summer. You need to increase the insulation to give you an R value of around 60. Get some estimates on having it blown in.We had it done to our 3 level depression-era house that was almost un-sleepable upstairs during the summer months. We also installed some attic vents and turbines. Cost was less than a grand but made a massive difference in living conditions.
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I would check this option also, if there' s a big difference between the floors, I lived in a 30 year old semi and when i got it reshot it made a big difference but regardless, the upstairs will always be warmer. Radiant sheeting is also an option but I would look at the blown in insulation idea first, probably your most economical way.
 
If it's really hot in the attic space, make sure the attic itself is vented properly. There should be soffit vents underneath the perimeter on the outside, and vents near the peak to let the hot air escape. Those little rotating vent-gizmos (wind driven) can be used to help the air circulate if you want, but they're not essential, there are several effective designs of attic vents. DO make sure the soffit vents aren't clogged, though. If critters have gotten into the attic, they love building nests there.

Attic insulation helps prevent that heat from radiating down into the occupied space, and as others have noted, this insulation should be loose and fluffly. Blown-in insulation is the easiest. Don't put anything down on top of the insulation.

Windows open at night, blinds closed on the sunny side during the day. White or silver blinds are best.
 
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