The attic is a huge determinant in keeping your entire home cool so the first place to start cooling your home should be the attic.
Hot upstairs attic insulation.
Does the roof need ventilation or incapsulate the entire attic and ceiling.
How can i insulate the attic and roof or ceiling.
Poor attic insulation leaking air ducts and blocked soffit vents can also cause your home to have hot upstairs and cold downstairs.
All the old drywall has been removed.
When the attic and attic access are not properly sealed and insulated the hot air coming in through the roof can leak into the lower floors of the home.
Also adding an attic fan will help cool things down by circulating the air up there and decreasing the amount of hot air reaching your second floor.
The upstairs has knee walls and the eve or soffit have no vents.
Whether using loose fill or batts put the vapor barrier closest to the warm side of your installation where hot moist air would get in facing the house s interior in cold climates beneath floor insulation and the attic s interior in hot climates on top of floor insulation.
Closing all the downstairs registers may help the hot upstairs a little but your air conditioning system may suffer from inadequate airflow.
Of course the simplest but not the best solution is to just use a stand alone fan in a specific hot room.
Add extra insulation to your roof and attic.
In other words use temperature controlled or timer d attic fans to keep your attic from getting too ridiculously hot.
Some regions don t require a vapor barrier.
More attic insulation helps but only if you have very little now.
With only minimal levels of insulation and areas where insulation is missing attic heat can turn ceiling drywall into a giant radiator that makes upstairs rooms uncomfortably hot.
Poor attic insulation to check if your attic has sufficient insulation or not look out for attic floor joists.
Attic ductwork leaky uninsulated ducts turn cool air warm.
If your upstairs is too hot the likely problem is poor insulation in your attic or bad ventilation throughout the home.
Combine this with the hot air rising from the lower floors and you re looking at a perfect recipe for uncomfortable upstairs environments.
Within the attic insulation is a must.
You can even air seal your attic to prevent heat from seeping in.
No wonder your upstairs is hot.
Reduce use of lights and appliances avoid generating additional heat upstairs.
By upgrading your insulation you can save energy and improve interior comfort year round.
Not the overabundance but the lack of insulation in the attic.
It s being attacked from both sides.
Attack your hottest spots with low energy cooling.