On Jun 21, 12:37*pm, Kurt Ullman wrote:
In article
,

*aemeijers wrote:
Within limits, you can do a poor man's zoning of the cooling system by
the old trick of partially blocking some of the downstairs registers and
air returns. Pay close attention though- if system starts running
longer, or coil starts freezing up, it didn't like whatever you did. Do
you have enough air returns upstairs? A lot of builders cheap out and
only put one in the center hallway, and count on air under the doors to
provide a return path. That often gets blocked by carpet. Try leaving
all the upstairs doors open during the day, if you normally leave them
closed.

* * * * * The air returns are the ones high on the wall, right? Every
room upstairs (we have four bedrooms)has one. Each room also has at
least one and some have two on the floor. Kids have moved out, so we
don't use three of the four bedrooms. We turned off the registers and
keep the doors closed to these. Should we open them back up and them
maybe close the ones downstairs?



I assume you are already leaving the drapes shut on sunny side of the
house, and running any ceiling fans you have, to get the air well
stirred? If you can stand the noise, a cheap box fan aimed up the
stairwell can make a noticeable difference.I would not put an exhaust
fan in an upstairs window during the day- you electric bill will
skyrocket from cooling the outdoors.

* * *The ceiling fan in the bedroom runs all the time. We turned off the
ones in the non0-used bedrooms. In addition to the drapes, we have a
really nice big tree just outside the bedroom windows which cuts off a
LOT of the direct sunlight.

--
*"I found what I thought was a REALLY good book,
called _Girl to Grab_. Imagine my surprise when I found
out it was volume 6 of the *Encyclopedia Britanica*!"
-Martin Mull

I would try leaving the blower on all the time, open all second floor
vents and returns and reduce 1st floor vents and returns. Reduce
airflow to much and the coil will freeze up, so you should keep an eye
on it. Has it been checked for freon, and the coil cleaned? If airflow
is bad upstairs out of vents, there are inline duct fan boosters that
can turn on with your thermostat to get more air to the second floor.
You may have supply upstairs but without 2nd floor returns you wont
cool, are the grills restrictive. There is alot you can try but a pro
is a good idea.