Air conditioner doesn't cool other side of house properly?

Question

Just recently I bought a brand new house; custom built for me, etc. I thought everything was perfect until summer came and the air conditioner didn't cool the opposite side of the house.

When I turn on the air conditioner, on one side of the house where the condenser is closest to, it seems to be cold, if not freezing, compared to the other side of the house which unfortunately is where the master suite is situated.

I was wondering if this was a problem with how they did the layout in the attic with the tubing or if it's because they used cheap tubing that warms up the air before it gets to the opposite side of the house.

OR if it's because the fan, which is located exactly above the part of the house where it's coldest, blows hardest to the 4 bedrooms located their and the left over draft blows over to the master suite?

Hopefully this is an easy fix?

Answer 1

The unit is not balanced correctly. If it is really hot in the master sweet and the unit is all the way on the other side of the house the best fix will probably be to add an air return to the bedroom. If one can be added where it is far away from the present duck work. On the other hand you could add baffles to your present system that you could close down the air to the rest of the house to force more air over to the master. They could be there now and just need more adjustment. The best will be a air return to the master that will help to draw the hot out and circulate more air to the room. I hope this gives you ideas.

Answer 2

The unit is undersized,undercharged,ductwork not designed corectly,or needs two units if a two story house,one for the upstairs and one for the downstairs.

Answer 3

You NEED to have the air "Balanced". You are not getting enough airflow to the hotter areas. The type of ductwork could also be an issue. Incorrectly sized ducts will not allow proper CFM's (Cubic Feet per Minute).

Answer 4

Ask your builder or the HVAC contractor who did your job to come back and "balance" the system. This may mean tweaking some of the registers or diffusers so more velocity is provided to push that air to the other end of the house.

Typically, you want the furnace and ac coil/blower located in the center of the house to keep from having this problem. Some builders just throw the furnace next to the garage and don't worry about this.

You also could have an air block cushion of hot air in that end of the house. If you don't have any return air grilles in the ceilings in that part of the house- that hot air cushion at the ceiling just kind of hangs around. You may need to add a cold air return in one or more of the rooms at the hot end of the house.

It also could be that there is not much insulation on top of the flex duct running to that part of the house. It probably is insulated flex pipe, however it still needs to have attic insulation laid over the top of it. Attic temps can easily reach 140 degrees.

Check your ventilation in your attic also. Do you have vent ridge? was it installed properly. Usually the plywood on your roof is cut back about 2-3" from the peak on each side of the roof-this slot lets the air up and out through the vent ridge. Some builders get in a hurry and don't even cut plywood back, it looks like you have vent ridge, but it does not really work.

You may need a power roof ventilator to help blow heat out.