Most likely from lack of insulation down there in Bama. You could also try
heavy drapes or window tinting on the front of the house. Is the attic
ventilated? There could be any number of causes but if your AC is working
fine other parts of the day, its not likely there is anything wrong with it.


"malcolm" wrote in message
.. .
Hi, I hope this is the correct newsgroup to post this problem. If not my
apologies up front.

I bought a house last year and am having problems cooling it late in the
afternoon. With the weather warming up down here (Alabama), I am already
finding myself bumping up the AC throughout the day so it does not run
constantly. My house is a two level house with an unfinished basement
garage. The AC can hold the house at the set temp during the morning
hours
and/or if it is cloudy all day. But if the sun is shining especially late
afternoon the AC cannot hold the set temperature on the themostat (Even
with
the AC running the inside temp. continues to rise). So, of course unless
I
bump up the thermostat the AC continues to run until the sun goes down and
then it slowly start to recover itself. The back part of the house over
the
unfinished basement stays cool, but the main part of the house continues
to
warm up throughout the day. This part includes the kitchen, living room,
and dining room and all three of these rooms reside over the garage area.
This is also the same side of the house the sun is beating down on in the
afternoon and into the evening. If I cook dinner in the kitchen then the
temperature in the house really jumps up (no outside vent in the kitchen).

What I am wondering is what I can do to remedy this problem. I have tried
buying a box fan to try blowing the warm air out of the house. I have
also
covered the windows on my garage doors. The garage doors themselves are
un-insulated wood doors that already need replacing. Sometime soon I plan
on replacing them with windowless, insulated steel doors. Also I have no
insulation in the basement/garage area under the main level flooring.
Would
it help to insulate the floor between the main level and garage? Of
course
this would help somewhat, but is it worth it? I have been reading some
about attic fans to pull heat out of the attic on hot days. Could this be
the problem. Btw, the attic is fully insulated. I am also assuming a
vent
to the outside in the kitchen may help. For sure when the oven and stove
are on.

Any help or ideas would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Malcolm