Is Your Top Floor Too Hot?

With summer heat and humidity starting to move into Northern VA this summer people are starting to notice they are too hot on the upper floor. Some people think there home should of been built with two hvac systems. One to heat and cool the upper floor and another one to heat and cool the main floor and the basement. 

This usually is not the solution to the problem of being too hot in the summer. The expense of running duct work, gas, electric, and condensation drains for another HVAC can really add up. Then you have to consider your original HVAC that was sized for your entire house is going to be over sized. What that means is that the air conditioner will cool your main floor and basement too fast. The humidity won't be able to be removed and mold could occur. So now your considering two full systems for your home, which is double the expense, not including the maintaining and operation costs. 

The real problem is the lack of air sealing on the attic floor, poor insulation, and radiant heat coming in the attic. When you air seal, you seal all the penetrations in the attic floor. This could be top plates which is the top part of your interior and exterior walls, light fixtures, and any other penetration in your upper floor ceiling. This heat from your outside space attic is trying to move to cold. So this is one place it will move in to the upper floor. 

Most people in Northern VA have poor insulation. The insulation in some house hasn't been updated since the 1960's or 1970's. You want to have your insulation to better than minimum code for your comfort. This will slow down the heat trying to move into your upper floor. It best to use Trusoft cellulose or Prowool from Dr. Energy. 

The last thing you want to look at is trying to reduce the radiant heat into the attic. This is the sun beating on the roof and heating up your roof and the heat is driving into your attic and then eventually into your upper floor. This is even worse when most attics in northern VA have duct work suspended above the insulation in the attic. The heat is now heating up your conditioned air you already paid to cool before it gets to your upper floor. You can install Stephan's radiant barrier under the roof which is like what people put in car windshields to keep the car cool in the summer. The heat is reflected back reducing the attic temperature by up to 20 degrees. This is like keeping your house under a shade tree in the hot summers. A very good solution if you had to take down a lot of trees around your house that once provided shade. 

All of this combined to make your upper floor more comfortable typically costs less than an additional system added to a home. So when your uncomfortable on your upper floor call Comfenergy for a free comfort evaluation.