Effective air conditioning on tri-level

[Greg]

Hello to group,

My family recently moved into a tri-level house. The bottom level is on a slab, the middle level is on a crawlspace, and the upstairs, well, is upstairs. Anyways, the bottom level is 10 degrees cooler than the rest of the house. Two rooms upstairs are roughly 5 degrees above the bottom (They are directly above the compressor located in a closet) The master bedroom (3rd room upstairs), is stifling. Not much air getting into it as it is on the upstairs opposite the compressor. The house is only 1500 square feet. Is there a way to get more air upstairs? Also, the return is on the ceiling upstairs, but the filter is not flush with the ducting. It just sits on the vent, and the duct is roughly a foot above it. All kinds of dust is getting past it, or so I think. Is there any help out there? Thanks so much Greg ki4bbl

[Edwin Pawlowski]

If you have a compressor in the closet, it will keep that part of hte house warm. The compressor is the part that goes outside the house and gets rid of hot air. The evaporator coil and air handler (fan) are inside.

Are all the vents wide open? Most houses seem to be that way. Start by partially closing off the vents in the cooler areas and that will force more air to the warmer sections of the house. You can supplement with a fan if need be.

Also, the return is on the ceiling

I've never seen a filter on a return air duct. Do you man the grill or register? Returns should be on the floor, the outlets near the ceiling.

[Don Young]

Even the best expert could not solve this by remote control. You will have to get someone knowledgeable to check out the system to see what needs to be done to properly balance the airflow. It might be simple or it might require new ductwork design. Running the fan continously might help some. Cleaning of filters and coils might be needed. Shading, insulating, or otherwise reducing the heat load in the hot areas could help some.

Don Young

[dkarnes]

the new condo i bought for in-laws has the returns in ceiling and also the filters go in there. the furnace is in the garage attic. condo is on a slab.