Is it Possible to Evenly Cool a Multi-Level Home?

Modern air conditioning works by removing heat from an air source. The very definition of cold is simply the absence of heat, thus an air conditioner cools the air using three methods, radiation, convection, and something called heat cooling. No matter what style of air conditioning you have in your home, the process by which an air conditioner cools a house is pretty standard.

In an air conditioning system, a compressor causes the vaporized cooling medium (water, air, ice, or chemicals) to become really dense which adds heat to the system. That dense compressed vapor gets cooled during an internal heat exchange so that the vapor becomes a fluid. That same fluid gets pumped to the inside of your home, where it enters an evaporator. That evaporator consists of tiny spray nozzles that push the now cooling fluid into a chamber. In that chamber, the pressure drops and the fluid finally evaporates. It is that evaporation that cools off your home. As it evaporates, it absorbs heat from the air.

A multi-level home is much more complicated to keep evenly cool because of the different pockets of warmth that need to be cooled. Air conditioning contractors work hard to provide even cooling to a multi-story home because of the natural temperature differences between higher and lower levels. Since warm air rises and cool air naturally sinks, the lower floors will feel cool and the upper levels will feet hot. This temperature difference is easier to feel in a split level home because of the wide open space required by the stairwell.

Heating is a similar issue in multi-level homes, again because of the natural movement of hot and cold temperatures according to height. Contractors have a few tricks to keep the temperature in multi-level homes consistent. The first trick is to leave your furnace fan on. This moves the air in your house to push cool air upwards and warm air downwards, the opposite of the way they tend to move.

Another trick is to use ceiling fans. This is another way to force the movement of air. Even if you have an open floor plan or a troublesome stairwell, this is a quiet, cheap, and energy efficient way to move air where you want it in your home. Finally, close off any lower rooms that aren't in use. If you can close off an entire level of your home, you can hold the cooler air from moving down where no one needs it simply by shutting a door.

As for environmental concerns, it seems that keeping a multi-level home at the right temperature requires a lot of energy inefficient tricks. This doesn't have to be the case. For starters, make sure you have a highly efficient furnace with a variable speed option. Even a furnace running at 80 percent has a much worse impact on the environment and on your checkbook.