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I just moved into a new house and have discovered a situation regarding cooling. It is a two-story house, built in 2006. There is only one HVAC, and one thermostat for the whole house. I live in Arizona (hot climate) and it is still cooling season here. The issue is, with the thermostat set at 72, the upstairs floor maintains 72, but the downstairs is between 77 and 80. I am concerned that when it comes time for heating, the upstairs will bake while the downstairs stays chilled.
The thermostat is located upstairs on a wall below the return air grilles, which are in the ceiling of the second floor, near the stairwell. There are two 20x25 return grilles side by side. The air handler is in the attic above the return air grilles. Upstairs are three bedrooms with one outlet each, a bathroom with an outlet, and a den with two outlets. Downstairs is the master bedroom with two outlets, master bath with one outlet, powder room with one outlet, living room with one outlet, and kitchen/dining room with two outlets. I've tried closing the upstairs outlets off to force more air downstairs, but the resulting whistle is really loud and annoying, requiring these outlets to be re-opened for sanity's sake.
I have spent most of my savings getting into this home, and cannot afford to replace the system or have it re-designed. I had an idea that installing an electronically-controlled damper in front of the upstairs outlets, effectively adding a "zone" to the system, and replacing the thermostat with one that could have a remote sensor installed downstairs, could open/close the damper to help equalize the temperature between floors. Would this work? If so, any recommendations for hardware? If not, what else could I do?
The thermostat is located upstairs on a wall below the return air grilles, which are in the ceiling of the second floor, near the stairwell. There are two 20x25 return grilles side by side. The air handler is in the attic above the return air grilles. Upstairs are three bedrooms with one outlet each, a bathroom with an outlet, and a den with two outlets. Downstairs is the master bedroom with two outlets, master bath with one outlet, powder room with one outlet, living room with one outlet, and kitchen/dining room with two outlets. I've tried closing the upstairs outlets off to force more air downstairs, but the resulting whistle is really loud and annoying, requiring these outlets to be re-opened for sanity's sake.
I have spent most of my savings getting into this home, and cannot afford to replace the system or have it re-designed. I had an idea that installing an electronically-controlled damper in front of the upstairs outlets, effectively adding a "zone" to the system, and replacing the thermostat with one that could have a remote sensor installed downstairs, could open/close the damper to help equalize the temperature between floors. Would this work? If so, any recommendations for hardware? If not, what else could I do?