Two story home. Upstairs recently vacated (whoop!).

What do I do with A/C? I'm afraid if I turn off the upstairs A/C completely the one downstairs will work overtime.

This is new territory. Help me TexAgs. You're my only hope.

RDH80 said:

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Just set the thermostat higher in summer and lower in winter . You need conditioned air to cycle through (hot or cold) so your house and furniture doesn't deteriorate . Been doing this for years and the bill is not that much different than not running at all .

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exact same thing here.

80 upstairs for us.

Hot air rises…set it to 82-85 and it will be fine

CapCity12thMan said:

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Hot air rises…set it to 82-85 and it will be fine

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I set it to 78 yesterday.

It never turned on.

So that's a $$ win, seeing how it had been running ~6 hours / day. Just want to make sure I'm not setting myself up for something down the road if it doesn't run for a month or two.

Tree Hugger said:

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I'd keep the upstairs at a reasonable temp so I could be comfortable in my naked room

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Gotta keep the fish alive.

Our two-story is all jacked up with humidity issues and we're about to get a whole-house humidifier.

Having said that, the minute we became empty nesters I turned the AC up to 82 (during the summer) and we didn't think about it for 6 months. Went into the upstairs bathroom (no window) and there was mildew all over the cabinets, ceiling and pocket door.

Now I have the upstairs AC set on 75-76 and keep a hygrometer in that bathroom. My electric bill is outrageous and I'm ready to scream, so be careful.

ABATTBQ11 said:

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Turn the upstairs into a sex room so you'll spend more time up there. Problem solved.

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empty next = wife near or at menopause so that's not an option unless he's got a side hook up.

Serious reply to OP.

Do you have an open room to the upstairs, or is it just a single stairwell?

Single stairs, then set it at 80+ and forget about it.

Open to below, set it a little lower and the cold air will come down to the lower level and keep it cool and the downstairs will run less.

agracer said:

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ABATTBQ11 said:

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Turn the upstairs into a sex room so you'll spend more time up there. Problem solved.

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empty next = wife near or at menopause so that's not an option unless he's got a side hook up.

Serious reply to OP.

Do you have an open room to the upstairs, or is it just a single stairwell?

Single stairs, then set it at 80+ and forget about it.

Open to below, set it a little lower and the cold air will come down to the lower level and keep it cool and the downstairs will run less.

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Mrs wcb not quite there yet. We let our daughter know it was in her best interest not to come home unannounced.

Upstairs has a living area open to the downstairs on one end, then a hall to two large bedrooms / one bathroom on the other. Does it make any difference leaving bed/bathroom doors open or closed?

I'm on week two of the upstairs not kicking on. Sounds like I need to check it out for humidity / etc. In the meantime I'm hoping to see a drop in the electric bill now that it's not running 7 hours / day.

Agree on selling the house. Two story homes are hell when you get old.

What thermostat do you have for upstairs?

You could also look into upgrading that and it would kick on if the humidity is getting too high.