Every floor in your home should be a retreat that’s warm and cozy in the winter season and cool and comfortable in the summer. However, residents in some homes with multiple levels find the upper floor is stubbornly hotter or colder than the rooms on ground level.

This could just be because most thermostats in a house are on the first floor, which is where people spend the most time—in the living room, kitchen, etc.—so as a result they tend to set the temperature according to how it feels on the first floor.

However, temperature variations between the upstairs and downstairs could also be due to issues with your HVAC system. Some of these difficulties can be fixed relatively quickly while others might necessitate more extensive and costly fixes. Here, the professionals at Central Air LLC will help you figure out why the upstairs of your home is hotter than downstairs, or vice versa.

Why Is It Hotter Upstairs?

The phenomenon of the upstairs of a two-story home becoming hotter than the downstairs can be traced to several factors. Number one, heat rises, so it’s natural for the second floor of a home to get hotter than the main floor. Poor insulation in the attic or roof can make this worse by letting heat transfer from the roof into the upstairs rooms.

Another common reason is that the HVAC system is not powerful enough to cool the entire home, causing it to have difficulty cooling the upstairs adequately.

To deal with these issues, homeowners could add additional insulation in the attic and make sure their home has sufficient ventilation. If there’s a possibility the air conditioner is the correct size for the home, call an experienced HVAC company like Central Air LLC inspect the unit. A knowledgeable professional also can help locate a unit that's better suited for your home if you want air conditioning installation or replacement.

Why Is My Upstairs Colder/Not Heating?

When the downstairs of your home is warm, but it’s freezing upstairs, that can cause a very chilly night for anyone whose bedrooms are on the upper floor. The most frequent causes of an upstairs not heating like it ought to are the insulation levels and the ductwork.

Inadequate insulation permits cold air to leak through the home’s attic or walls and contribute to heat loss, causing colder temperatures upstairs. It’s crucial to make sure your home has a solid, level layer of insulation in the attic and appropriate insulation in the walls to keep the cold out and the heat inside.

The ductwork in a home plays a fundamental role in distributing conditioned air throughout different locations of the building. However, problems with the ductwork can result in the upstairs being colder than the downstairs. A typical reason for this is improper airflow balance. The ducts may not be the correct size or design, creating an uneven distribution of air between the floors. This can cause more warm air to go downstairs, causing insufficient airflow—which is the heated air—on the higher floors.

Another potential problem area in the ductwork is the layout of the supply and return vents. If there are fewer vents on the upper story or they are not correctly installed, it can reduce air circulation and cause inferior heating or cooling. In addition, leaks or gaps in the ductwork can allow air loss, lowering the overall efficiency of the HVAC system and making the temperature difference more pronounced.

To understand why the upstairs is colder than the downstairs, homeowners should hve their ductwork examined by skilled HVAC pros like the team at Central Air LLC to identify any imbalances, leaks or inadequacies. Sealing leaks and adding additional vents or adjusting existing ones can help improve airflow and ensure a more consistent temperature balance between the upstairs and downstairs.

How You Can Fix a Hot or Cold Upstairs?

If your upstairs is hotter or colder than the lower floors of your house, an HVAC zoning system could be a useful solution.

An HVAC zoning system divides the residence into distinctive zones, which each have their own thermostat and damper system so the homeowner can control the heating or cooling of each zone.

This system can be especially effective in scenarios where the upstairs of a multi-story home is very hot or too cold while the main floor is comfortable. By setting up a  zoning system, homeowners can manage the temperature independently in each zone, allowing them to address specific hot or cold spots effectively.

To find out more about an HVAC zoning system in Brookfield, call Central Air LLC. We’ve created and installed customized home comfort plans for many community members and are happy to show how an HVAC zoning system could work in your home.

Why Is the Humidity So High Upstairs?

In addition to the upper story being hotter or colder than the rest of the house, another problem in multi-floor homes is when the higher levels are more humid than the lower level.

A common explanation for excess upper floor humidity is weak ventilation on the upper floor, which can result in greater humidity levels. As is often the case with temperature differences between floors, poor insulation or sealing in the attic or walls may permit warm, humid air from outside infiltrate the upstairs rooms. In addition, if there are any leaks or plumbing problems on the upper floor, that can also lead to unwanted moisture in that area of a home.

To address humidity problems, homeowners can improve ventilation by installing fans or opening windows to promote airflow. Appropriate levels of insulation  in the attic and better sealing the attic and walls can help protect against external moisture from entering the upstairs. Finding and repairing any leaks or plumbing issues is also critical.

Depending on the levels of moisture found in the home, a whole-home dehumidifier could be another helpful tool to reduce humidity in your home.