Theoretical Cooling Options??
Here’s the dealy. Very much welcome any thoughts on what might be best approach. We occupy top two floors of 3-floor house. Tenants have bottom floor. I need to cool our space only. Maybe with potential to expand if we ever take over whole house – not a high priority. Have gone through pretty extensive…
Here’s the dealy. Very much welcome any thoughts on what might be best approach.
We occupy top two floors of 3-floor house. Tenants have bottom floor. I need to cool our space only. Maybe with potential to expand if we ever take over whole house – not a high priority. Have gone through pretty extensive renovations already and (perhaps incorrectly) didn’t bother with central air I’d love to do something that’s not too invasive. Standard story – top floor gets rather toasty in summer.
A large window A/C does fine cooling bottom floor but looks tacky. Top floor is a different matter, especially since window units in each of three bedrooms isn’t physically practical.
Been told that a whole house fan could cool things down a lot, that insulating the ceiling will cool and help in winter. Plus there’s those mister slim thingys that I don’t know too much about.
Ideal solution wouldn’t be too intrusive. Plus I don’t think I need a ton of cooling power. Any thoughts on best approach? Thanks,
Thanks so much for thoughtful answers all.
Roof is silvered and in decent shape. Have ceiling fans in a couple of rooms which helps a bit too. Especially towards the end of summer though, the heat just builds to the point where more is needed.
Much appreciated!
Whole house fans work great if sized properly. Make sure you insulate the roof. That will help greatly. If you have the $$$ put in a high velocity a/c system. If not, install the split system.
I have been wanting to know about whole house fans too. I have a 2-story row house with ceiling fans in all the upstairs bedrooms. I made sure they are plenty large enough for the space. It’s pretty good for most of the spring and summer but there are always a couple weeks where it’s just really hot. I got a window ac for one room, but have been wondering whether a whole house fan would be helpful. It seems that the problem in our climate is that when it gets really hot and humid, there isn’t anywhere to pull cool air in from because outside is still quite hot and humid, though slightly less so than inside the top floor. I’d like to put up awnings on the south side of the house as well but that will have to wait.
A roof fan could help a lot. We never had AC where I grew up, but my mother was religious about opening all the windows and turning on the roof/attic fan at night. In the day all the windows were closed and blinds and curtains drawn. It was always very comfortable.
LG Art cool are mini splits which can be customized. Saw some on a house tour and they looked good.
Regardless of the cooling option you choose… Paint your roof!!! Paint the damn thing with the special silver roof paint. It’s super cheap and it really makes a difference!
There is always the idea of a greenroof….
I second the ceiling fan recommendation. I’ve not lived on a top floor in awhile, but we have them and makes regular AC only needed a few days a year.
Central air unit on the roof ducted to top floor ceiling will probably do an adequate job for top & middle floors. In the future you could put a separate unit in the basement & duct up to the bottom floor (condenser in the back yard.)