Why is my attic apartment so hot in summer and cold in winter?
Attic apartments trap extreme heat from the roof while sharing a single HVAC sensor located elsewhere in the house, leaving the top floor sweltering at 80 degrees or freezing at 64. Because the central system cannot properly regulate the space, tenants are left struggling with unmanageable indoor temperatures and direct drafts from blowing vents.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Using an old window unit for summer coolingDid this help you?
- 2Using heated blankets or heating pads for winter warmthDid this help you?
- 3Applying heat-rejecting window filmDid this help you?
- 4Using a blower-type fanDid this help you?
- 5Adding more floor insulationDid this help you?
- 6Installing ridge vents, soffit vents, or whirlybirdsDid this help you?
- 7Adding powered attic fans or solar roof fansDid this help you?
- 8Applying radiant barrier foilDid this help you?
- 9running the air conditioning even though it doesn't adequately cool the upstairsDid this help you?
- 10Installing an attic fan or gable vent fanDid this help you?
- 11Improving passive ventilation with whirlybirdsDid this help you?
- 12Adding more insulation to the atticDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Today I climbed up in my attic to check something and it was well past 150° in there, no exaggeration.”source ↗
“If my attic is going above 150° regularly there is no way that is not affecting my house.”source ↗
“It still is 100+ in Texas right now..”source ↗
“the house is set to 73, hot or cold, but without additional items, it will be anywhere to 78-80s in the summer and 64ish in the winter.”source ↗
“the thing is a dinosaur that seems to be on its last legs. The sensor isn’t cooling to the right temperature and since it’s in the living room, it’s hard to have furniture and seating because the cold air is constantly blowing into the seating area.”source ↗
“Upstairs stays really hot even with cold air coming from vents.”source ↗
“Attic is extremely hot.”source ↗
“I noticed insulation is shoved into the areas where air would normally come from the soffits.”source ↗
“I have tried. I got minimal cooling at best. If you had a flat roof it might work. The cost to keep putting water on a sloped roof will likely outweigh the gains.”source ↗
“Has anyone ever tried using a roof sprinkler to cool their roof and attic during the summer?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 4How to stop heat loss through an attic hatch or open carport
- 6Why is just one upstairs room so hot in the summer?
- 2Why is my house so hot after getting a new roof?
- 11Why won't my AC cool the house when it's extremely hot outside?
- 4How to ventilate an attic with no open soffits?
- 3How to stop cold drafts coming through a sliding glass door