Is Your Orlando Area Upstairs Too Hot? Tips for Keeping it Cool

Though the first floor of your Orlando home may be cool and comfortable, it’s not uncommon for upstairs rooms to be too hot. This is partly because hot air rises, and partly because of all the solar energy absorbed by the upper walls and roof. (The first floor, in comparison, is mostly shaded by the second floor.)

It doesn’t have to be that way, though. There are steps you can take to keep the upstairs cool, and make your entire house a comfortable living environment.

• Close the shades. You can reduce the amount of solar heating upstairs by simply covering the windows during daylight hours.
• Check the vents. Make sure none of your upstairs air vents are closed off or blocked by furniture.
• Replace air filters. If your intake air filters become clogged with dust, your A/C system will not be able to provide as much cool air.
• Use fans. Ceiling fans, or even floor fans, make a room feel a few degrees cooler than the actual temperature. By using fans upstairs, you can make those rooms feel cooler without making the downstairs areas too cold.
• Use zoning. By upgrading to a zoning system, you can have a different set of temperature controls on each level of the house. The system will automatically keep the upstairs cool by directing more cold air where it’s needed.
• Ventilate the attic. A lot of heat can build up in your attic, which makes it difficult to keep the upstairs cool. Using an attic fan can help dissipate that heat.
• Add insulation. Similarly, adding insulation can you help control attic heat. A radiant barrier on the underside of the roof will keep heat out of the attic, while attic floor insulation keeps attic heat out of the upstairs rooms.
• Have your A/C checked. If your air conditioner has any problems that are limiting its effectiveness, those problems will be noticed first in the hard-to-cool upstairs rooms.

At Rinaldi’s Energy Solutions, we can get your A/C running at peak performance and find ways to keep the upstairs cool. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Orlando, Florida and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about cooling upstairs rooms and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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