Even the best Utah air conditioner has a hard time keeping the upstairs of a home as cool and comfortable as the downstairs. Why? The simple answer is that hot air rises! Many of us who live in two-story homes have upstairs bedrooms, and temperatures that are too warm make sleeping soundly much more difficult. If our hot Utah summers make adequate upstairs cooling a little tricky at your house, here are 7 quick tips that can really help.

1. Close upstairs blinds and curtains during the day to prevent the hottest rays of the afternoon from heating those rooms.
2. Consider getting replacement windows. If you are still living with single-paned models or have window casings that leak, you’re letting in all kinds of extra heat. If you don’t want to pay for total replacement, window tinting film is also a great option and it’s more affordable for every budget.
3. Add more attic insulation. Think about it: unless you have a lot of tall shade trees, the sun is beating down on your roof all day long. More insulation will keep that hot air up in the attic where it belongs and away from your living areas.
4. Replace your furnace filters more often. When your filters are too dirty they become blocked: and all that nice cold air can’t get through as easily. Getting a new filter at least every three months is a good rule of thumb: if you have lots of shedding pets, you may need to change the filter even more.
5. Close half of your downstairs air supply registers to force more of the cold air upstairs where it is needed more.
6. Make sure that both your upstairs air supply and your upstairs air return vents are not blocked by furniture (such as beds). You’ll find that just a little bit of rearranging will make a big difference.
7. Get your air conditioner checked by a trusted professional Utah heating contractor like Any Hour Services. You may be having problems with your refrigerant levels or your unit may have other troubles that are preventing effective cooling to the whole house.

When it comes to staying cool and comfortable in your upstairs living areas during the summer, sometimes all that is needed is a little extra help.

May 24th 2013

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