Symptom
Upstairs too hot, or some rooms never comfortable?
When one room or a whole floor stays hotter or colder than the rest, the equipment is often fine — the problem is getting air to that space. Undersized or leaking ducts, too few returns, closed or blocked vents, heat gain from the roof or windows, and a single system serving two floors are the usual causes. Measuring airflow is how the real cause is found.
Worth booking. A comfort problem rather than an emergency. Book an airflow assessment.
What usually causes this.
These are the common possibilities, not a diagnosis. A page cannot tell which one it is — that takes a technician testing the system.
- Ducts & vents
- The house itself
- Filter & return
- Blower
- Duct design or damage
- Ducts that are undersized, too long, crushed or disconnected deliver too little air to the rooms at the end of the run.
- Duct leakage
- Leaks in an attic or crawlspace lose cooled air before it reaches the room.
- Too few returns
- Rooms with doors closed and no return path can't get fresh supply air in.
- Two floors, one system
- Heat rises. A single system with one thermostat downstairs often leaves the upstairs hot in summer.
- Heat gain
- Rooms under a hot roof, over a garage, or with large west-facing windows need more cooling than the rest of the house.
- System capacity or airflow
- A system that's low on capacity — dirty coil, weak blower, low charge — shows up first in the hardest-to-reach rooms.
What you can safely check.
- Make sure every supply vent and return grille is open and unblocked.
- Try leaving interior doors open to see whether the room improves.
- Replace the filter.
- Set the fan to Auto, and note whether the problem is worse at particular times of day.
Leave these alone
- Closing vents in other rooms to push air to the problem room — it raises static pressure and can make the system work harder or freeze.
- Crawling through attics to adjust dampers or ducts.
What we check when we get there.
In order, and every time — the point of a diagnostic is to find out which cause it is before anything is replaced.
- 01An airflow assessment measures air delivered to each room, static pressure, and duct condition and leakage.
- 02Depending on the findings, fixes range from sealing or re-routing ducts, adding a return or balancing dampers, to zoning or a ductless mini-split for a room the ducts never reached properly.
What it is likely to cost.
Duct and airflow work is quoted after the assessment, because the fix depends on what's found. A ductless mini-split for a single room has a published starting price.
- Diagnostic / service call
- $89
- Ductless mini-split
- From $3,600 / zone
Prices are starting points for standard work in the Savannah area. Final price depends on the system and site, and is confirmed before work begins. Permits and code-required upgrades may be additional.
Questions people ask about this.
- Why is my upstairs so much hotter than downstairs?
- Heat rises, the upstairs sits under a hot roof, and many homes use one system with one thermostat downstairs. Duct design and return air upstairs make a big difference.
- Will a bigger AC fix one hot room?
- Rarely. If air isn't reaching the room, a bigger system just cools the rest of the house more — and can make humidity worse.
- Is a mini-split a good fix for one room?
- Often, for an addition, bonus room or converted garage that the existing ducts never served well.
Work out the decision:System Sizing Guide
Further reading:How long does an HVAC system last on the Georgia coast?Getting HVAC right in a new buildSingle-stage, two-stage or variable-speed: which is worth it here?Do you need a whole-home dehumidifier on the coast?
The service that fixes it.
Indoor Air Quality is the work behind this symptom. Its page covers what is involved, how it is quoted and what we stand behind.
- 01Indoor Air QualityHumidity control, filtration, purification and ventilation — the half of comfort a thermostat does not measure.
- 02Heat Pump Service & InstallationHeating and cooling from one system — well suited to our climate, and unforgiving of a bad install.
- 03AC Installation & ReplacementNew and replacement cooling systems, sized to the house rather than to whatever was there before.
Symptoms that sit next to it.
Systems rarely fail in one way only. If one of these is also true, say so when you book — it narrows the diagnosis before anyone arrives.
The system runs, but the house feels damp, some rooms never keep up, or the bill jumped.
- House feels humid or dampA house can feel damp with the AC running when the system cools the air without running long enough to pull moisture out — most often because it's oversized — or because humid air is getting in through leaky ducts, ventilation or poor exhaust.
- Power bill suddenly higherHeating and cooling are usually the largest share of a home's electricity use, so a sudden jump in the bill often points to the HVAC system running longer or harder than it should.
Not sure which it is?Describe it to the assistant
Everything else we are called about.
The whole index, in three groups.
HUMIDITY, AIRFLOW & ENERGY BILLS
Get it looked at.
We cover Savannah, the Coastal Empire and the South Carolina Lowcountry. Tell us what the system is doing — you do not need to know the cause. The diagnostic price is given to you before the visit, and the repair price before any work starts.
No heat, or no cooling at all?Call rather than send a request — (912) 858-3737 is answered around the clock.