One of the most common complaints we hear from our Chicagoland customers is that their upstairs is too hot in the summer. The rest of the home on the first floor could be comfortable and cool, while the upstairs bedrooms feel humid and stuffy. This makes it challenging for the homeowners to sleep at night, and many times the problem persists even with air conditioning.
The Chicagoland and Naperville area has many bungalow and cape-style houses with tight upstairs living areas that are especially susceptible to this problem. If you’re experiencing this, it might feel like you just have to continue living with it. However, there are actually specific reasons why your upstairs is hotter than the downstairs and several permanent fixes that can resolve the issue entirely. Here’s what you need to know.
Why You Have a Hot Upstairs and Cold Downstairs
It’s important to understand why this problem develops in the first place. Most of it has to do with building science and the way the home is constructed. There are a few factors at play:
- Rising Heat: Since warm air naturally rises, the upper levels of your home tend to be naturally hotter than the lower floors.
- Attic Heat Gain: The roof receives the most direct solar irradiation on the house, so it absorbs the heat the sun puts out. If there is poor insulation, this heat often seeps down into the attic and upper floors.
- Air Leakage: Upstairs rooms often have air gaps in the ceiling, particularly around recessed lights and attic hatches. These gaps create a direct pathway for hot air from the attic to leak into living spaces.
- Duct Leaks: Central air systems can develop ductwork leaks along their path to the upstairs supply registers. This diminishes cooling power and makes the upstairs feel less comfortable than other areas of the home. It’s common for homes to lose 20-30% of their cooled air because of these leaks.
The architecture of Chicagoland homes further contributes to the problem. Half stories, dormers, and knee walls are all very common in smaller bungalow and cape-style homes. Many times, there aren’t full attic spaces like there are in other homes, and sometimes there’s no attic at all. This exacerbates problems with heat gain from the sun.
How to Pinpoint the Cause of Your Hot Second Floor
With so many possible variables, you don’t want to take guesses at the cause of your hot upper floors. It’s best to do a comprehensive diagnostic to accurately identify core issues.
An energy assessment from a certified building performance contractor like ARC Insulation is your best course of action. During this assessment, our technicians perform a complete analysis of your home’s performance and energy efficiency. We use tools like blower door tests to find air leaks, thermal imaging to identify poor insulation, and duct leakage tests to reveal problems with your AC’s airflow. With this information, we can offer targeted solutions that resolve your second-story discomfort.
How to Cool Down the Upstairs: Permanent Fixes
If your second floor is too hot in the summer, there are options to fix it for good. Once you’ve completed an energy assessment, you can start making strategic upgrades to overcome the building performance challenges you’re facing. These upgrades typically involve three things: insulation, air sealing, and ventilation.
Insulation
Adding insulation in your attic is the most effective way of resolving hot upper floors. It creates a thermal barrier that slows down the heat transfer between the sun and your home. This prevents heat from entering your living spaces and counteracting your air conditioning.
Air Sealing
If you have any air leaks between your upper floors and the attic, or between your attic and the outdoors, you’ll want them sealed. Air sealing stops hot and humid air from entering your living spaces, making it easier to cool the space and maintain consistent comfort. Spray foam can be used to seal and insulate simultaneously.
Ventilation
Air needs a way to escape once it gets trapped in your attic. Adding passive ventilation like soffit and ridge vents gives hot air a way out. Active ventilation techniques like turbine vents and exhaust vents can also manually remove the heat.
Duct Sealing
If you have leaks in your ductwork that are causing air-conditioned air to escape into your attic, Aeroseal duct sealing can help. During an Aeroseal application, the ductwork gets pressurized, forcing air out of any leaks. Once pressurized, Aeroseal (an airborne sealant) gets introduced into the system. It travels to any leaks and accumulates, eventually curing and closing gaps up to a half-inch wide.
Improve Your Home’s Summer Comfort With ARC Insulation
Our team at ARC Insulation is very familiar with the hot second floors that so many Chicagoland homes experience. We’re experts at resolving building performance issues with comprehensive insulation and air sealing services. We’re state-certified in weatherization assessments and hold BPI certifications in insulation, air sealing, building envelopes, and building analysis.
If you continuously find yourself asking, “Why is my upstairs so hot?” let our building science professionals help.
