Here's what you do: set your upstairs thermostat to your desired temperature goals, and then set your downstairs unit to be two degrees warmer. For most homes, this naturally encourages a temperature balance that's comfortable and right at your desired temperature goals.
Turn Fan “On” – Usually, the fan setting is set to “Auto.” This turns on the fan whenever the heating or cooling system is on, but for the rest of the time it is off. When you turn it “On,” the fan will continually circulate air throughout the home. This can help even out temperatures throughout the home.
The general rule of thumb for a two-story home is that you should set each thermostat two degrees Fahrenheit apart from the other. During the summer, when your AC is running, set the upper floor at the temperature you actually want in your home. Then set each floor underneath that to two degrees warmer.
Rising heat in multi-level homes
In a typical two story home, there is a 8–10 degree temperature difference between the upstairs and the downstairs. This is because heat naturally moves from lower to higher levels, leaving the upstairs rooms warmer than those below.
First, check for these common problems: Dirty air filter—A dirty filter restricts airflow, not letting your home get enough cool air. Closed vents—Closed vents in rooms can cause them to be hotter than other rooms. Open windows—Your conditioned air can flow out of open windows, leaving uneven temperatures in your home.
If there is a cold room in your house, the problem has likely been caused by dirty vents, cracked ductwork, worn insulation or faint drafts.
You might have heavy furniture or items covering up your vents, absorbing all the heat. This is a very common reason why one room in a house is always cold, and it's easily solved by simply moving the items away from your vents, allowing an unobstructed flow of warm or cool air.
Positive ventilation means pressurizing the upstairs to limit the exchange of heated air from downstairs. You can do this by closing all of the windows upstairs and running an air conditioner or the whole-house heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system. Close all of the cooling vents downstairs.
The reasons your house is cold even with the heat on could be because of poor insulation, your furnace not working properly, rooms with high ceilings, or your heating system doesn't cover the whole house. Each of these issues can prevent your home from properly heating.
A safe temperature is accepted to be between 68 and 74 degrees Fahrenheit for people above the age of 65. The temperature inside your home should not reach below 68 degrees Fahrenheit in any case, as that increases the risk of respiratory disease and even hypothermia if there is prolonged exposure.
Even if you have a central air conditioner in perfect condition, your upstairs will need much more cooling than the main floor for the temperatures to feel consistent. Here's the point: Rooms upstairs are much more exposed to the elements than rooms on the main floor.
The rule of the thumb to remember is that hot air normally rises and cool air sinks. So for your two-story home, your upstairs will feel warmer than the downstairs. For this reason, it is best to install your thermostat in the most central location.
Many times, the upstairs temperature will be several degrees off the main-floor temperature. This is due to faster heat loss caused by cold air in the attic and by ductwork that is too undersized to offset that extra heat loss.
There may be drafts and pockets of colder air near the floor; The walls are colder and don't emit the usual amount of infrared radiation, so you lose heat due to your body emitting more IR than it receives; You may spend more time indoors and hence have less physical activity, so your body generates less heat.
Insufficient Insulation
If your house is older, it's possible that a particular room feels cold because the insulation used in that room's construction has worn away. Many homes built before 1982 have under-insulated attics. This allows more heat to rise and escape your home, which in turn means colder rooms.
If the first floor of your home is colder in the winter months, keep the dampers on the first-floor vents fully open and only partially open the vents on the second floor to force more of the warm air to enter the first-floor areas.
Sometimes a thermostat control will be placed in a room that is not central to the usual temperature of the house. This might be in a room downstairs that has the door closed. When that room is heated, the furnace will go off and leave the rest of the house at a temperature that is cooler.
Why is a room heater placed near the floor and an airconditioner near the ceiling? The heater is placed near the floor because the air currents move upwards so the hot air fills up the whole room. Whereas, an air conditioner is placed near the ceiling because the cold breeze tends to settle down.
When your room is hotter than the outside, it's possible that the room has poor ventilation. Proper ventilation allows hot air to exit while cool and fresh air enters the room. South-facing rooms also heat up from more sunlight, while upstairs rooms will experience the Stack Effect as heat rises through the building.
A specific duct may be clogged if there's no improvement. From there, you can inspect your ductwork by first unscrewing the vent covers and checking behind the vent grille for debris. Use a flashlight to check the inside of the ducts, taking note of any damage around the seams and making sure the dampers are open.
Your sleeping environment and the bedding you sleep on are the most common reasons people get so hot when they sleep. This is because your core temperature drops a couple of degrees during the night and sheds heat into your surrounding environment.