How to Increase Airflow to the 2nd floor (Upstairs Cooling Fixes)

Ever noticed how the downstairs of your house feels like an icebox just after a few minutes of cooling, while cooling your 2nd floor is almost never less than a workout? Of course you have, we’ve all been there!

Here at Alternative Aire, we like to equip our customers with everything they need to maximize their comfort, which is why we will be walking you through some very simple strategies that can be deployed to increase airflow to your home’s second floor!

Key Takeaways Increasing airflow to the 2nd floor is a common problem faced by many. Following a few simple strategies can fix it in no time! Stack effect and static pressure affects air movement, which leads to upstairs being hotter than downstairs. Improving your ventilation and maintaining your ductwork can significantly improve the airflow of your 2nd floor, so it’s important to learn how to handle these. Contrary to popular belief, limiting downstairs ventilation does not help with cooling the floor upstairs! Rather, adequate downstairs ventilation helps with increasing the airflow upstairs, which is essential for a chilled environment.

Why is Your Second Floor Hotter?

A whole lot of issues disrupt the balance between the first and second floors of houses. It is one of those HVAC issues in humid climates, where moisture makes the air feel heavier and harder to move. Factors like the stack effect, temperature imbalance, static pressure, and airflow are primarily what result in a warmer second floor.

What’s the “Stack Effect”?

To put it, the stack effect, also known as the chimney effect, refers to air movement caused by temperature differences. Naturally, warm air rises, while cold air sinks. Because it’s the air’s natural tendency to behave this way, upper floors are almost always warmer than floors beneath them.

Understanding Static Pressure

Static pressure is defined as a major source of resistance to airflow when it comes to HVAC. 

When static pressure rises, airflow decreases and vice versa. High resistance caused by static pressure is often a result of dirty filters or undersized ductwork, as they seriously disrupt airflow. 

Even though second floors tend to be hotter due to air Physics, strategies like proper ventilation and taking proper care of your ducts can easily help you increase airflow to your 2nd floor!

Ways to Get Better Ventilation and Cooling Immediately

Good ventilation can do wonders for better airflow in your home’s second floor! Through utilizing  the tips and tricks below, you can easily enhance your home’s ventilation without putting a dent in your wallet:

• Using cross ventilation: Make sure to keep windows on opposite sides open as this will lead to cross ventilation, which will help you have a cool atmosphere in no time!

• Running exhaust fans: Exhaust fans in your kitchen and bathroom are supposed to push the air outside of your home, and to make sure they’re doing that, keep them running for a couple of minutes after you’re done using your kitchen and bathroom to completely get rid of the heat.

• Keeping windows open: Don’t forget to open your windows early in the morning; this is an essential part of ensuring your home is properly ventilated. This lets clean air into your home and helps clear out stale air.

• Ceiling fan tricks: It’s important to set up your ceiling fan according to the weather. During summertime, make sure it’s spinning counter-clockwise to push air down, and during winter it should be spinning clockwise to pull air up.

• Sealing leaky ducts: Leaky ducts cause unbalanced airflow throughout your home, so make sure your ductwork is properly done with no leaks, or else maintaining a balanced airflow is going to be tough work for you. Always prioritize checking airflow after installation of any new duct to make sure the seals are holding up.

• Manual J and Duct calculations: Manual J helps you to determine the load, whereas manual duct determines that airflow pathway. Accurate Manual J and Duct calculations help you measure your home’s airflow requirement so it’s a piece of information you’ll absolutely need while opting for an air conditioner that’s perfect for your home.

Strategies to Solve Your Ductwork Issues

Ducts tend to be a little bit tricky, most of the time you need to really get a good look at them before deciding whether they need to be fixed or not. And depending on the weather, you may need to adjust them too! Let’s dive into the ABCs of ducts to help you see how to deal with them:

• Balancing with dampers: Ducts have these small levers on them which are known as dampers. Dampers help you regulate the air volume. By adjusting them you can easily make sure your home’s second floor has enough air flowing into it!

• Sealing the leaks: Ductwork sealing prevents air leaks which helps to maintain the overall airflow balance inside your house. Even the smallest leaks can cause a lot of discomfort so make sure to check for ductwork leaks regularly.

• Add supply ducts: Adding extra supply ducts helps with pushing air upward, so consider installing them if your cooling is too inefficient to reach upstairs.

Here at Alternative Aire, we make sure to resolve your potential duct issues through meticulously handled duct corrections. Make sure to give us a call if you’re noticing uneven temperatures or noisy vents too often!

Debunking the Myth: Why Call Downstairs Vents is NOT a Good Idea

Because of how air moves, it might seem like closing the vents downstairs can potentially solve the heated upstairs issue, but that really isn’t the case. If you are looking for ways of increasing airflow through vents, closing them is actually counterproductive.

Here’s what actually happens when you close your vents downstairs:

• Overall airflow drops: The floors upstairs at your home are already suffering from a lack of airflow, which is partly why they get so hot in the first place! If you decide to close your vents downstairs, you’re only limiting the airflow even more.

• Ducts get even more leaky: Closing the vents puts way too much pressure on your ducts, which makes them prone to leaking.

• Blower motor strain: The limited airflow makes the blower motor work harder, which ends up putting extra stress on your overall HVAC system. 

As you can see, despite how air physics works, closing all your vents downstairs will only make things worse. So it’s important for you to make sure your 1st floor is well ventilated as well! 

Our licensed technicians at Alternative Aire make sure to help you maintain good ventilation throughout your house with our repair, replacement and maintenance services. Call us today!

Frequently Asked Questions About Upstairs Airflow

Can a ceiling fan help with circulating AC air?

Absolutely. Running your ceiling fan counterclockwise at high speeds helps to push cooled air down, creating a balanced temperature inside your home. This is highly recommended for summertime!

Should I consider getting a new AC for my upstairs cooling issue?

Depends on what’s causing the temperature imbalance. If your air conditioner is too old, the repair costs for it are getting too expensive, then you should definitely get a new one. But if these aren’t the case, you should get it checked by a professional for underlying issues. 

You can also try replacing your air filters, adjusting vents, checking the insulation and using ceiling fans to see if it helps with balancing the airflow before getting a whole new unit.

How to increase return airflow in the house?

Replacing air filters regularly, cleaning ducts and doing regular duct inspection to make sure they’re all good increases return airflow in your house. Make sure your return air grilles are free from obstructions too, and consider adding more air vents if there’s too much temperature imbalance in your house.

How to adjust air vents so that the air reaches upstairs?

Follow the 20% rule and partially close the supply vents downstairs. Locate and adjust manual dampers, and make sure your return vents aren’t blocked. Unless there’s a major temperature imbalance in your house, these should work just fine!

Is my system undersized or is it an airflow issue?

If the first floor is perfectly comfortable, but the floor(s) above feel too hot compared to it, it’s likely an airflow issue caused by your ductwork. If your ductwork lacks the delivery power, it’s not going to cool all floors efficiently. However, if both of your floors aren’t being cooled sufficiently, it’s most likely because of your system being too undersized for your home.

How to know if the static pressure is too high?

If you’re frequently noticing excessive noise coming out of your HVAC system, frozen evaporator coils, bowed air filters, or short cycling, the static pressure is most likely too high.

Does it make sense to get a mini-split for upstairs?

Mini-splits use inverter technology which helps them to spend the exact amount of energy they need to spend without wasting any, which can be very useful for two-storied houses. Other than that, they make it very easy for houses with complicated ductwork to cool down all rooms inside a house, including the ones upstairs! So yes, it makes total sense to get a mini-split for upstairs.

My house has no adjustable dampers, what should I do?

If you don’t have adjustable dampers, make sure to run your fan as much as possible to move air. It’s also important to seal all air leaks upstairs for proper cooling. Additionally, you can consider using black out curtains to block sun to avoid letting extra heat into the house.

Category: Blog