Why is my house so hot?

[Will B.]

It's starting to warm up around here now which means my house is going to get really hot as well I can't for the life of me figure out why my house stays so hot. Its currently 77 degrees out side and according to the thermostat its 75 inside. I have all the windows open and both ceiling fans going full blast. I can't get any air to move in this house, especially down the main hallway which leads back to my bed room.

I have the water baseboard heat in my house so I don't have a central a/c unit. I have a large window unit that doesn't do to bad of a job, especially if your in the tv room/living room or kitchen. Any of the rooms off the hall way though and it just doesn't move the air. I have 1 ceiling fan in the tv room where the a/c is located and 1 in my room above my bed. In the dead of summer I usually have to have a small fan blowing in the window of my room and at the door way to keep it cool.

My question is what can I do to help move air and stay cool this summer?

Here is a cheesey drawing I did to help explain how the layout is.

[paul52446m]

It's starting to warm up around here now which means my house is going to get really hot as well I can't for the life of me figure out why my house stays so hot. Its currently 77 degrees out side and according to the thermostat its 75 inside. I have all the windows open and both ceiling fans going full blast. I can't get any air to move in this house, especially down the main hallway which leads back to my bed room.

I have the water baseboard heat in my house so I don't have a central a/c unit. I have a large window unit that doesn't do to bad of a job, especially if your in the tv room/living room or kitchen. Any of the rooms off the hall way though and it just doesn't move the air. I have 1 ceiling fan in the tv room where the a/c is located and 1 in my room above my bed. In the dead of summer I usually have to have a small fan blowing in the window of my room and at the door way to keep it cool.

My question is what can I do to help move air and stay cool this summer?

Here is a cheesey drawing I did to help explain how the layout is.

Hi paul here. During the night if you get the house cooled down, then in the morning close up all windows and shut the drapes to help keep the heat out.
If you open windows in the heat of the day, all you do is heat up the house.
If you have a air con. then use that to keep the house cool, with the windows closed. Do you have real good ventilation in your attic. get some one that knows what he is doing to check out your ventilation in the attic. Do you have good insulation in your attic so the heat can't get through the ceiling.
later paul

[pushkins]

Have you ever considered a whole house fan, the mount in the ceiling usually in a hallway and when turned on the shutters open and draw the air out of the house and push it out through a "well ventilated attic".
They are usually used at the end of a day when the house has been locked up, and work extremely well in replacing hot/stale air with fresh air, also an excellent way to create a breeze by opening windows and turning the fan on, the exterior air might be 77 F but when you create a breeze you loose up to 10 F in "feels like" temperature.

[Will B.]

Hi paul here. During the night if you get the house cooled down, then in the morning close up all windows and shut the drapes to help keep the heat out.
If you open windows in the heat of the day, all you do is heat up the house.
If you have a air con. then use that to keep the house cool, with the windows closed. Do you have real good ventilation in your attic. get some one that knows what he is doing to check out your ventilation in the attic. Do you have good insulation in your attic so the heat can't get through the ceiling.
later paul

I wouldn't call it good ventilation in the attic. As far as I can tell there are only small vents at the peaks on the end of the house and on the front at the peak above the garage. Insulation is the original insulation from when the house was built in the 60's and there is NONE above the attached garage. That is one thing that I am wanting to do this summer is put blown in insulation in the attic and above the garage. I'm not 100% sure but I don't think there is insulation between the garage and the rest of the house either.

[paul52446m]

I wouldn't call it good ventilation in the attic. As far as I can tell there are only small vents at the peaks on the end of the house and on the front at the peak above the garage. Insulation is the original insulation from when the house was built in the 60's and there is NONE above the attached garage. That is one thing that I am wanting to do this summer is put blown in insulation in the attic and above the garage. I'm not 100% sure but I don't think there is insulation between the garage and the rest of the house either.

I don't know what color you roof is, but a dark roof really heats up when the temp. goes up. Your attic could go up to 140 degrees or more, so if your venting
is not good and your insulation is not good, your house can really heat up in the afternoon.. If your house dates back into the 60's then you need to go to work
on venting, insulation, better windows,it will make a big difference.
Of course central air. con. is really great. After you fix the house, put a air handler with air con. in the attic and duct it out. later paul

[MitchOspa]

These are all really good suggestions, but I have a question for you. How large IS your house? From the looks of your "cheesy" drawing, it appears to be small, but that could just be the general lay out. Sometimes a thermostat doesn't help with an overall house. Perhaps you'd want to invest in a singular air conditioner? I takes up more power, but it sure helped me.

[Will B.]

These are all really good suggestions, but I have a question for you. How large IS your house? From the looks of your "cheesy" drawing, it appears to be small, but that could just be the general lay out. Sometimes a thermostat doesn't help with an overall house. Perhaps you'd want to invest in a singular air conditioner? I takes up more power, but it sure helped me.

The house total is 15XXsq ft single story ranch with a basement and was built in 1964.

[manhattan42]

Add Insulation

You probably need to desparately add insulation to your attic to cool the house.

Your location should have at least R-38 to R-49 in the floor of the attic (about 12-16 inches deep).

A 1964 ranch will be lucky to have any ceiling insulation unless some was added at a later date.

Adding the insulation will cut your heating and cooling bills and also keep your house cooler in summer and warmer in winter.

Also consider having your windows changes to high performance glass and insulate the walls of the structure as well.

But you will get the most immediate bang-for-the-buck by adding the insulation to your attic floor.

[Fix-it]

Open windows strategically. Air wants to move thru the house. Opening windows in the bsmt. and upstairs will force air to travel up thru the house allowing hot out.

[Will B.]

Right now I'm going to put insulation in the attic. Which would be a better way to go, blow in or rolled insulation? I priced blow in cellulose and doing it myself was giong to be about 900 bucks. Dimensions are approx 31'x 110'. That was for 12" of R44 IIRC.

Also I'm going to look into a single room window A/C unit for my 10'x12' bedroom. What size unit should I look for? I want something that is going to be pretty economical and also quiet. I don't like alot of noise at night when I sleedp(who does right?)

[paul52446m]

Right now I'm going to put insulation in the attic. Which would be a better way to go, blow in or rolled insulation? I priced blow in cellulose and doing it myself was giong to be about 900 bucks. Dimensions are approx 31'x 110'. That was for 12" of R44 IIRC.

Also I'm going to look into a single room window A/C unit for my 10'x12' bedroom. What size unit should I look for? I want something that is going to be pretty economical and also quiet. I don't like alot of noise at night when I sleedp(who does right?)

I am not a insulation man but i like the blown. i think it fills in and does a better
job. I do central cooling, so i don't keep up with what they are doing with the
window shakers A/C units. I would think a 6000 btu unit would do a good job.
Make sure it has a thermostat that controls it, Some cheep units don't have
one. Later Paul