Heat naturally rises, which is something anyone who lives in a two-story house understands. When there’s no air conditioner running, the upper floor of a house will feel hotter than the lower parts of the house.
A central HVAC system sends cooled air throughout a house to the rooms through vents so the cooling is evenly distributed. At least, it should be evenly distributed. But this isn’t always the case. If you’ve noticed that the upper floor of your home is much hotter than normal when the air conditioning is running, it points toward a number of possible problems—but fortunately, they all have solutions if you work with a professional Frederick, MD air conditioning contractor like Tuckers.
Below are some of the reasons for the overheated second floor and what can be done to fix them.
Your air conditioning system needs to be replaced
How long have you had your current AC? More than 15 years? If so, the reason you’re having trouble evenly cooling the house is probably because the air conditioner is starting to fail due to its age. Uneven cooling is one of the early warning signs of a dying AC system. Call for an HVAC professional to give your cooling system an inspection and determine if it needs to be replaced.
If this is the first summer with a new air conditioner, uneven cooling may indicate the AC was poorly installed. This is a common danger from amateur installation—if the air conditioner was improperly sized, then it won’t be able to evenly cool the house. The only fix to this problem is to replace the air conditioning system entirely. And make sure professionals do the job.
There are “trouble spots” in the house that may need independent cooling
Sometimes, there are rooms in a house that are difficult to cool with central air: rooms with less insulation or extra sunlight exposure or poor positioning along the ventilation system. Expensive fixes may solve this, but if you don’t want to interfere with the current HVAC system, we recommend you have a ductless mini split installed for the room. This is an elegant and straightforward solution for any room with special cooling/heating needs.
The AC has a clogged filter or other airflow troubles
If the airflow through the HVAC system declines, it means less cool air will be pushed to the upper floors. Check the air filter on the HVAC cabinet to see if it’s clogged and changed it for a clean one if it is. The problem could be with the blower motor and fan, which requires professional repairs. Or there may be leaks in the ductwork allowing the pressure to drop. HVAC technicians can test for these leaks and then seal them.
Other AC repair issues
There are other malfunctions in an AC that will lead to a loss of cooling power, which will start to affect the upper floor first: short-cycling, ice on the indoor coils, dirty outdoor coils, refrigerant leaks, etc. Let our experts examine your AC and find out if repairs will get it back to evenly cooling your home.
Tuckers Air Conditioning, Heating & Plumbing serves Montgomery and Frederick County. Call us and we’ll pledge to exceed your expectations at every turn.