I live in a 3-level townhouse, and in the summers (like now) the top floor of the house is always very warm: I have the thermostat set to 73 degrees, because that is the absolute highest it can be set without the upstairs turning into an oven. As it is I have a fan running in the master bedroom 24/7 just to keep the temperature reasonable, and I’m still usually sweating by the time I leave for work in the mornings. Meanwhile, the basement is freezing! (Yes, I have the downstairs registers closed – the ones on the middle floor, too.) So, I’ve been considering getting an electric register booster.
There are two kinds:[ul][li]one that sits on top of your existing register, and[/li][*]one that replaces the register[/ul]The latter is the more expensive option, but looks nicer and seems to make more sense to me. Does anyone have experience with either of these contraptions (or anything similar)? The Amazon reviews are mixed, and few in number – IOW, basically useless.
We tried one of these in the bedroom of our townhouse. It lasted five minutes before we packed it up and returned it. Just too noisy.
Our next-door neighbor had one built into the bedroom duct right where it left the furnace. He said it worked great and was silent. I’ve seen these at Lowe’s/Home Despot. Slightly more difficult to install but it looks like a good idea.
Multi level homes are a pain. There have been other threads about this, and the best suggetion is to see if the thermostat has a ‘always on’ setting (as opposed to running only when the AC compressor is running). This will circulate the air better through the house. A second option, if you are allowed to have them, is a small window AC unit for the upstairs room. We have a 6,000 btuh unit that was about $100 from a warehouse store (Sam’s Club, I think). It can cool a bedroom quite well.
Here’s where I admit to being a TV/movie junkie: Even with the downstairs vents closed the AC is still noisy in the basement (both registers are in the ceiling, right above my couch), and I greatly appreciate the times of silence.
Still, that might be worth trying some week when I won’t be watching much TV. Thanks! I’m mostly looking for opinions about register boosters, but I guess alternate suggestions are kind of unavoidable.
Unfortunately, window AC units are verboten by the HOA. They don’t want us to use window fans, either. Stupid HOA.
I have a follow-on question for slitterst: How would you say the noise was as compared to having a large tabletop fan running? The sound of my fan doesn’t bother me, and I’m wondering if the register thingie would be much louder.
We had a unit that sat on top of the vent and turned on when it sensed cold/hot air coming out. Because of the fan size it was a high-pitched whine when it was one. A large tabletop fan would probably be a lower pitch, which wouldn’t bother me as much.
Both Lowe’s and Home Despot have fairly liberal return policies. Go pick one up and try it out. If you don’t mind the noise, keep it. If it keeps you up at night like it did for us, just take it back (within 30 days, in the original packaging with receipt.)
