I currently live in a detached "story and a half" 55 year old house. I am a 10 year service journeyman in the hvac field. I considering 3 options to help keep the second story of my house adequately cooler in the summer than it is now. The upstairs (2nd story) has no return duct and only 3 supply registers. The attic space above the ceiling, due to the gabled roof line is under a foot of space. The bedrooms on the second story have a door through the closet to the attic which is at the same floor height as the bedrooms, and can be walked in. Even with insulation and vapour barrier between the attic and the bedrooms, the upstairs is typically 5 degrees warmer than the main floor in the summer. The attic has 4 roof vents. Air conditioning is summed up as heat removal. I've decided my options are to 1. run a return duct upstairs (through some closets), 2. get a ductless split with 2 heads, one in each bedroom, or 3. try exhausting some heat from the attic (and bedrooms) with a fan in the attic to outside. I came across a residential gas furnace that was recently replaced and not stripped down, that still had all its parts including a 1/2hp dc blower motor intact. I've removed the whole blower housing, circuit board and transformer. I'm planning to power them back up while suspending the blower housing from the ceiling in my attic and add some ductwork to the side of the house to run some air out of the attic. I plan to add a louvred outdoor grill at the discharge point and add fine chicken wire for bugs and animals. For cycling it on and off, I'm thinking to use a 120v in line thermostat that reads up to maybe 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Most 24v thermostats don't run that high or get expensive if they do. Set point on the thermostat set for maybe 120f . This should help to exhaust the 2nd story air. While also creating a negative pressure upstairs to help pull more conditioned house air up. Make sure I add a service switch in the closet next to the door. And give it a whirl. The cost to try this approach, already having all the materials is the a major selling factor for me. Has anyone found other methods or tips to assist this "story and a half" house problem? Or any ideas to improve my planned approach. Thanks !
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