An air conditioner can effectively cool both upstairs and downstairs in a two-story house with some additional help.
Cooling your home with an air conditioner helps relieve you and everyone occupying the space in uncomfortably hot and humid conditions.
Air conditioners reduce the humidity in a space and produce cooler air. Different homes require different AC cooling methods.
Some homes are particularly big and consist of two stories, which could complicate air conditioning, since there is a downstairs and upstairs in the home.
If you are looking to improve the air conditioning quality on your second floor, it may be helpful to find out what the best ways are to do so.
Can you use an air conditioner in a two-story house?
Air conditioning a single-story home is simple. With all rooms being on the same level, it is not difficult for the air conditioner to cool down the home efficiently.
Having a two-story home, on the other hand, can be a bit of a challenge, but, fortunately there are ways to cool a two-story house.
Aiding the air conditioner in the cooling process can significantly help in cooling the second floor of your home efficiently and effectively without the AC effort overworking itself.
The best way to air condition a two-story house
Summer can be significantly hot and a two-story house can get particularly hotter upstairs than downstairs.
When this happens, it can be difficult for an air conditioner to cool upstairs the same way it cools downstairs, because the higher level will be hotter than the lower level of the house.
Fortunately, there are various ways to aid an air conditioner to cool a second floor effectively.
One way you can help an air conditioner cool better upstairs is to install a thermostat in the upper level and the lower level of your home.
These can be done with a programmable smart thermostat that can set up a consistent cooling schedule for both floor levels without constantly switching between temperatures throughout the day.
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This setting can help the air conditioner detect which areas in the house are too hot, so that only the necessary amount of energy is used to cool both floors. This will help you save on energy costs.
Sometimes, the air conditioner may need help blowing cool air around the entire perimeter of the home, and ceiling fans for the upstairs rooms can keep your air conditioner from overworking to circulate cool air.
Ceiling fans can also help improve the cold air circulation of the air conditioner throughout the rooms on the upper level.
Other ways of aiding air conditioner to cool a second floor
- Install a ventless air conditioner such as an evaporative cooler
- Install an attic fan or vent
- Insulate the second floor by closing blinds and drapes
- Slightly close off first-floor registers
Can one air conditioner cool a two-story home?
Yes, one air conditioner can effectively and efficiently cool a two-story home and it can actually save you from having to buy a second one for upstairs. A good air conditioner option in this situation is a mini-split unit.
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These units have an outdoor unit and the indoor air handler releases cool air into indoor spaces.
The reason this type of unit would work best is because it allows you to install indoor air handlers in several rooms, which makes it easy to cool your upstairs space.
Closing unnecessary rooms
Sometimes helping your air conditioner cool better upstairs is as simple as closing the doors of certain rooms in the house that do not need to be cooled.
If you have an unused upstairs office space or bedroom that does not need cooling, closing the door can ensure that the air conditioner does not waste cool air that is needed elsewhere.
Cool air can also be directed to the right places when some rooms are closed.
Set air conditioner fan to “On” instead of “Auto”
Setting the second floor air conditioner fan to “On” instead of “Auto” might help keep the fan running on the upper level of your home. This will keep the fan switch on and it will not automatically switch on and off.
When the fan is continuously running, the cool air can keep circulating throughout the home via the fan and this, in turn, keeps both levels of the home cooler, whether or not the air conditioner is switched on. Continuous air circulation will keep the temperatures cool in the home.