The Hack Your Home Needs To Keep All Floors At A Reasonable Temperature

Most people who live in a two-story house understand the challenge of keeping the temperature consistent on both the upper and lower floors at the same time. What's often the case is that whoever inhabits the second floor can be too hot in the summer, and those on the ground floor may be too cold in the winter. This situation usually describes a home with a single-zone HVAC system, which means that the temperature of the home is calculated by one general area in the house. Once this area reaches a set temperature, the system turns off automatically, often leaving some rooms chilly and other rooms too toasty. A clever and inexpensive way to combat this back-and-forth struggle with the thermostat is to install a register booster fan.

This product works by simply drawing the air that's already in the HVAC system and directing it into the room that has been uncomfortable. For instance, if it's hard to sleep in an upstairs bedroom because it never seems to cool off in the summer, you can replace the register in that room with a booster fan. The fan will draw the cool air flowing through the HVAC system and channel it into the warm bedroom as long as there is cold air remaining in the ducts. This extra boost of cool air can lower the temperature in a room by several degrees, making it livable again. Here are some additional details about how this solution could work for your home.

The AC Infinity AIRTRAP T4 is an example of a booster fan that will fit into the opening of a standard 4-by-10-inch register, with larger versions also available. Simply remove the plate from the wall or floor and replace it with the fan. Keep in mind that the unit will need to be plugged in, so choose a vent in the room with an outlet nearby. A thermal probe inside the unit acts like a switch to activate the fan. It's important to understand that the temperature setting on the booster fan is not connected to your home. It does not control when your AC or heating system turns on or off. The unit also does not measure the temperature inside the room.

The product's thermostat only measures the temperature of the air inside the unit itself. When you program the device, you are telling it when to blow additional air into the room. For example, during the summer, you would only want cold air blowing through the vent. If you set the thermostat to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, it will only stay on when the air flowing through the system is that temperature or colder. You don't want it to start blowing warm air through the vent. Once the cold air has been emptied from the HVAC system, the gauge will indicate that there is no longer cold air present in the system, and it will shut off.

The reverse is true in the winter months. You want to take advantage of the warm air in the HVAC system. The fan will continue to circulate air through the system as long as it is warm air. Once the system is no longer blowing warm air, the unit will turn off. If you set the heating control to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, for example, the fan will only circulate when the air inside is at that temperature or higher. Once the hot air has been emptied from the HVAC system and the temperature inside the unit falls, then it will no longer continue to blow air that has become cooler.

The booster has a fan setting that ranges from 1 to 10 for a lighter or stronger flow of air, which carries a level of white noise that some users compare to the sound of a computer fan. The reviews of this particular product are overwhelmingly positive, with over 7,000 ratings of four stars or above. Many reviewers emphasize the importance of reading the instructions to understand how to set the thermostat. Once they understand how to make this adjustment, most people appreciate how economical it is for their energy bills to use a booster fan to make a difference in their homes. As one reviewer states, "This vent was well worth every cent. It has solved the problem of our warm bedroom in the summer."