Mid-Michigan | HuskerJ - 7/3/2026 08:57
My dad had a similar situation - has a brick house and separate A/C units for the top and bottom. He had an A/C guy look at things to figure out the best way to do things, and he suggested a vent fan that draws out the hot air at night. Being a brick house, it takes longer for it to heat up during the day, and longer to cool down at night. By purging the hot air as soon as the outside air cooled off, the A/C didn't have to work as hard. I'm not sure exactly how the vent fan worked, but if I remember right, it did not draw cool air up from below, but rather vented hot air out the attic, and let cool air in upstairs. I also don't know if the fan is on a timer, thermostat or what, but I do know that it does a lot of good for the little bit of electricity it takes.
That is a great idea. My house has no shade (of any value), my dad built his house in an oak Grove. Lots of problems with tree related stuff, but in the summer, his house is in the shade 75% of the day. No matter how hot it gets, his basement never gets above 70. He has central air but if it runs more than 6 hours a year, it would be rare. All I do is kick the fan on from the furnace and draw cool air upstairs (1800 sq ft ranch). Can keep it at 70. |
House air conditioning question.