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Lol...this is why when we were househunting we looked for a house that was either one story or had the second story tucked back and away...we wound up with the second story tucked back towards one end of the house so not much air gets up the staircase.
Is there any way you can erect some sort of temporary barrier? My friend does that in her house...door to the upstairs? Or is it too open (my parents' is like that - too open).
Another thing would be a fan to blow the hot air down.
I've seen people hang drapes in their stairwells to prevent heat from rising to the second floor.
You can close off your air vents on the second floor. That way it won't get too hot up there.
We have hot water heat. We solved our problem by re-installing the iron radiators on the first floor and leaving the second floor with baseboard radiators that don't give off as much heat.
My house is very comfortable in the winter. The downstairs is actually warmer than the upstairs, which is the way we like it because cooler temps are better for sleeping.
Check the main duct for a directional or zone damper/baffle. There should be a handle. If present, it allows you to direct airflow, either totally closing it off, fully opening it up, or somewhere in between among the various ducts. Although heat rises, I suspect that the airflow for the lower level is dampered closed, hence the majority of heat output is upstairs.
Ceiling fans downstairs which direct the air downward might help, and close off the heat upstairs. Have you had an HVAC guy to make sure you're adjusted for optimal efficiency?
This is our second 2 story house. The first was built in 1920. The upstairs was unbearable in the summer. We ended up putting window A/C's in just so we could sleep at night even though we had C/A. I still love 2 story homes and our current house is much newer. I thought that would resolve the issue. Nope. We still have the issue of the upstairs being warmer. It is just how 2 story homes are. We adjusted our vents and basically cut most of the heat off upstairs. It helped a lot. It is just something I chose to live with because I do not like ranch style homes.
Couldn't find any damper/baffle. Maybe I don't know what to look for. :-(
I still think that because you described what seems to be a dramatic temperature difference between upstairs and downstairs that there is a baffle direction issue. If there's no apparent handle on the main supply duct, look instead for a small, turnable knob. When I moved into a home that I purchased a couple years ago, I had the same issue you describe, but it was the AC that did not circulate upstairs. It took three people carefully surveying the main ductwork to locate a little, tiny knob that adjusts the baffle. Ridiculous. I still need to get a HVAC contractor who does decent sheet metal work to open the duct, install a proper baffle handle, then seal it back up.
I have two homes here. Same problem with both. Icy downstairs in winter, too hot upstairs. A native of NC suggested simply to shut upstairs vents pretty completely. It WORKED on both homes (single unit HVACs). It was an amazingly simple solution to an ongoing big problem. Now, I assume it'll work in the summer reversed.......
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