Hot Upstairs

I really depends on the capacity of your current AC unit. If it is already chugging along all day then the window unit suggestion is the way to go. If it is going on and off you can control it by partially closing the vents downstairs. That would limit the flow of cold air downstairs but keep a full flow upstairs. If you play around with the vents enough, and your unit can handle it, you can end up with the same temperature upstairs and down. :)

Oh the reason is heat rises. :)

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Window unit?
We rented a townhouse short term while our home was under construction. I HATE 2 stories. Yes, heat rises. So summers are BRUTAL in the south if you are sleeping in the upstairs of a townhouse. The one we rented had minimal insulation and there typically is no 'zone' a/c in townhouses, so the upstairs is ridiculously warm.

If you can stick a window unit in for nighttime it might make it better. Otherwise, turning the a/c super low makes your electric costs skyrocket, while freezing you out downstairs. And who wants to live in a meat locker?
We didn't do a window unit, but we were only there for a couple of months during warmer weather (it was mostly during the winter), but my brother successfully used one in his FROG (family room over the garage) which stayed warm also.

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I live in an adorable home that has the same problem. I had to run the air conditioner overtime to be able to cool my boys' room upstairs. Instead, I bought a window unit from Lowe's (on clearance!). It makes such a tremendous difference throughout the entire house!

That's my suggestion. Measure the window opening and the square footage of the room you wish to cool. Take it to lowes and figure out which unit you need. Mine is 6,500 BTU and cools up to 250 sf. It cost me $139. and there is a $50 rebate available through the local electric company since it's Energy Star rated.

Good luck!

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Our home is the exact same way. We even put in an entire new unit in our house in April because the A/C guy said that would help. Needless to say it did not. Our house is an older home and just doesn't have a cold air return in the 2nd story. They said they could fix this, but only with major construction (that we can't afford). Right now we have a window unit in one of the bedrooms and fans in the others.

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Open one or two windows downstairs, and get a box fan for an upstairs window. Set the box fan on the window sill facing OUT and turn it on high. It will blow the hot air out of the upstairs and slowly draw the cooler air from downstairs UP. It sounds crazy, but it works pretty well!

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I agree with the idea of sucking the hot air OUT the windows with fans. Blowing the air up & into the bedrooms isn't gonna work.

Maybe consider getting window units for the bedrooms.

Open your attic. Hot air rises so if you give it a way out it should flow up and out. Try opening the attic and then blowing the air around upstairs with a regular fan to help the air make its way to the attic opening
Good Luck

That is a problem many homes have...if you own the home - consult with an AC/Heating company about installing a second unit for the upstairs...

In the mean time - if you have a stairwell with space - get a floor fan and put it at the top of the stairs (out of the way of course) facing the rooms - to help get the cooler air upstairs...

Cold AIR SINKS...Hot air RISES...this will be a REVERSE problem for you in the winter...

Our townhome was a rental, with No Air Conditioner "laws". Technically they said that window air conditioners can't be installed because it's aesthetically unpleasing blah blah blah. (Wanna see my "aesthetically unpleasing" hot toddler &/or husband? They're REALLY unpleasing when hot.)

So we bought a portable air conditioner.

It sat on the floor, and just had the intake flush with the window. Bam. Cool upstairs. So much so, that we left the doors open UPSTAIRS so the cool air would meander it's way downstairs.

Lasted for 4 years. I just tossed it this year, even though we own. So now I'm heading over to the Evil Empire this week to pick up 2 window air conditoners. Window units about about 25%-50% less than a portable one.

In the meantime, we have "double fans". One window is sucking the hot air OUT and another window is turned the other direction and sucking the cooler air in. ((Only works if it's cooler outside than in)).

We own a 2-story house and were able to do a few things to make it cooler. The attic has insulation and the underside of the roof has a foil backing(also available as a paint). We tried to minimize the amount of heat coming in the upstairs windows by using solar screens, heavy curtains, miniblinds, and roller blinds in combination. Keeping the lights off during the day and using low energy bulbs. We have ceiling fans in the bedroom, but I've heard of putting a ceiling fan over the stairs too.

We used to put big box fans in the windows facing the opposite way, to suck the hot air out of the room and it seemed to work.