Derek Cole explains why one HVAC unit can't keep a two-story house comfortable: heat rises, so the upstairs gets hotter while the downstairs freezes. The fix is a two-zone system with a second thermostat for each floor, letting you control the single unit separately instead of installing expensive dual units.
Chances are, I've seen this before, the thermostat is downstairs. You have a unit that runs the whole house up and down. So to get upstairs comfortable, you then have to make downstairs freezing. The problem with one unit covering both is that you have different demands upstairs than you have downstairs. So when you look at a house and think about it, heat rises obviously, right? So when heat rises upstairs, typically would be warmer than downstairs, right? So chances are, I've seen this before, the thermostat is downstairs. You have a unit that runs the whole house up and down. So to get upstairs comfortable, you didn't have to make downstairs freezing. Um, when I first got married, we lived in the apartment that was 2 stories but had 1 unit. So I mean, when you went downstairs at nighttime, it was like You better put on like a big coat and everything else because it can happen. Because upstairs you have more of a load than you have downstairs. Downstairs, heat rises. You also have the attic upstairs, so you have these forces you're going against. You have the attic, you have windows, you have upstairs heat rises, and downstairs, of course, cold air falls. And you don't have an attic downstairs, so you do in— and the crawl space is not that much of a heat load compared to an attic, so it's different demand. So how you solve that problem is either 2 units, or what we've done quite a few times, which is zoning. You make downstairs one zone, you make upstairs one zone. It's very simple. If you have a unit that covers up and downstairs right now, you can very simply make it a 2-zone system.. That way you have a thermostat downstairs, you have a thermostat upstairs, you can keep it that temperature you want, you keep it that temperature you want, and they can make it work that way. So, uh, the challenge with some houses is that there is not that duct chase in the house for the duct to be run to have one unit for the whole home. But if you already have that, obviously that's available, but you just need to make it a zoning situation. I wouldn't get 2 units. I would just zone it upstairs, downstairs, and that will solve the problem. But until you do that, it is what it is. I mean, the thermostat downstairs, upstairs is warmer in the summertime. It's going to be. So you just might have to freeze it out downstairs and get upstairs as comfortable as possible.
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