It’s frustrating when you crank up the air conditioner on a summer day, only to discover that it doesn’t cool your entire home. It may cool the downstairs portion of your home, for instance, while leaving the upstairs balmy and hot.
A healthy AC system should cool all rooms inside your home, including those on the upper levels. If it’s only cooling the downstairs, it may be suffering from one or more underlying problems.
Air Duct Problems
Problems with the air ducts may prevent your AC system from cooling the upstairs.
Air ducts consist of passages through which cool air flows. After being cooled, the conditioned air will enter the air ducts where it’s distributed throughout your home.
If the air ducts were improperly installed – or if they are leaking – the conditioned air may only reach some parts of your home and not others.
Insufficient Attic Insulation
Assuming your home has an attic, you should check it to ensure it has a sufficient amount of insulation.
Missing or otherwise insufficient attic insulation can result in a warmer upstairs in several ways.
First, your attic will absorb more heat from the sun, which will then heat up the upstairs floor of your home. Second, more of the cool and conditioned air will leak into your attic, resulting in a warmer upstairs.
Undersized AC System
Another possible reason why your AC system isn’t cooling the upstairs is because it’s too small.
Multi-story homes require a larger AC system than single-story homes. If your AC system is too small, it may only cool the downstairs while leaving the upstairs hot. With that said, you shouldn’t choose an oversized AC system, either.
If your AC system is too big, it may experience a phenomenon known as short-cycling in which it frequently cycles on and off.
Short-cycling won’t necessarily affect the cooling performance of your AC system, but it will result in greater cooling costs while also causing premature wear and tear of your AC system’s components.
Blocked Supply Vents
If the upstairs isn’t getting cool, check the supply vents.
AC systems contain two types of vents: return and supply. Return vents are responsible for drawing air into the AC system, whereas supply vents are responsible for projecting the cool air.
If the supply vents are blocked, they won’t release the cool air. Instead, the cool air will continue to circulate throughout the air ducts until it finds an open and unobstructed return vent, such as a return vent on the downstairs level of your home.
If you are experiencing a problem with your air conditioning or heating call us at 512-336-1431 to schedule an appointment. We’ll be glad to come out and take a look at the issue.
1431-183 A/C & Heating proudly serves Round Rock, Georgetown, Cedar Park, Pflugerville, Leander, Liberty Hill, and North Austin.
