I just had new vents run in the basement and even though they are closed, it will not cool the upstairs. It is 80 degrees upstairs. What is the problem?

close ceiling vents
the hot air down stairs rises through the vents and adds to the upstairs heating
same as hot air goes up the stairs to the upper rooms

if there is no control of air movement between floors and you have it on cooling then any cold air will go down to the lower floor
or alternately if you have it set on heating all the hot air will rise to the upper floor
where is the system located (upstairs or down stairs ) and where is the thermostat located
to get control close any upstairs to down stairs doors or erect a heavy curtain across the stair well

you will need a thermometer, you can use a meat therm.take a temp reading of the air going into the return and then coming out of the supply at the unit, it should be at least 15 to 20 degrees cooler in the supply, if not it may be low on refrigerant also check filter and return duct make sure your not pulling air from attic

I've never used a ceramic chimney, or seen one for that matter. I know that the dual walled vent pipe works better when warn/hot. Can't explain it real well but the inner pipe gets hot while venting the heat and smoke. And between the inner and outer wall is cooler air, which is drawn down towards the wood burner. Creates a suction by the exhaust out of the center pipe. Mine smokes up the house when I leave the doors open and when it's a low flame inside. I'm sure you've checked on the manufacturers' specs for venting but, if you don't already know, look into the thermal dynamics of a dual walled vent pipe. And also a ceramic as you have. Has to be something with your stove install or vent pipe. Hope this couch advise helps!

I lost you at my the end but the 2 ton unit should be able to cool 960 sqft. Sounds like a refrigerant problem. Air conditioners should cool the air 15 to 20 degrees. This means 80 degrees going into the machine in the return should be 60 to 65 degrees coming out in the supply. If you are in that range than it's likely never going to cool the space.

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Connie, it will only work if all of the interior doors to the basement are closed during this time. Even putting an old towel at the bottom of the door(s) leading to the basement will stop the air flow.

Hope this helped you and thanks for choosing FixYa.

jbrown - Hot air rises, Cold air falls. If you have ceiling fans upstairs, turn them on to run counterclockwise at highest speed you can stand. Make sure all the windows are closed upstairs. The ceiling fans will help to keep the cool air upstairs and pull some from downstairs.

If you don't have ceiling fans, invest in a box type fan that you can place at the head of the stairs (that's the top of the stairs) run it on HIGH and it will act like an exhaust fan, by pulling cool air upstairs. It may take a while, but it will help cool the upstairs to some degree.

Hope this helped you. Please let me know. Thanks.

i had a similar problem, and a six inch duct and inline booster fan didnt help, the room was just to far away from the furnace and ac. to save energy, i use an oil rad in the winter, and a portable ac in the summer, it works great.my house is a back split, so its a common problem. in the summer, all downstairs dampers should be closed to push the cold air upstairs ,as it will come back down anyway and the basement is cooler as it is. so if you have 4 flores, you close the bottom 2. bungalow you close the basement

A good heating guy should be able to balance your dampers to increase the airflow upstairs. Keep in mind heat rises. 2nd floors are the hardest to cool. You may need to add more returns to pull the heat down the the evaporator so it can be cooled. If you are lucky you may be able to adjust your blower up to a higher speed. You may have to even add some more supply airs. Check with your local building inspector. He may be able to give you a list of contractors in your area that would be good for this type of problem. Good luck>>>

It sounds like a restriction in your ducting. Feel the A/C vents in the hot rooms to see if cold air is blowing out of them. If the ducts are restricted, then it is possible that the air conditioning coils are freezing up from lack of circulation. Inspect the ducts if you can to see if there is any restriction.

Note that even if you feel air coming out of the ducts, it could be ambient as opposed to cold. The best thing is to measure the air temperature coming out of the ducts. It should be around 20 degrees colder than the ambient air at the intake of the A/C.