Are there such things as multi-zone central air conditioning?

[Lifer]

my house gets pretty hot upstairs (bedrooms/living/dining/kitchen) but very cold downstairs (foyer, den, basement).
could you setup a CAC system where its split into 2 zones (upstairs/downstairs)?
it would also be helpful becuz a/c is not needed downstairs during bedtime.
yes, i understand it would involve redoing the whole system, and possibly 2 a/c units outside.
and no, closing the individual vents is not going to cut it.

so does anyone have a setup like this in their house?

 

[Electric Amish]

You would need 2 furnaces, or at least a furnace and another blower.

I'd get either a window unit for upstairs or a swamp cooler.

amish

 

[Gyrene]

I'm designing a Central Air System right now with about 25 different zones, so I think 2 would be no problem . My house is set up in a 6 zone system, Constant Volume (Non-Mixing), Variable Temperature Constant Volume.

 

[jteef]

we have 2 ac units to do this. I think you'll find its rather cost prohibitive to add a second one to an already built house.

You could just get a window unit if your neighborhood allows it. or just go around and close all the downstairs vents and open the upstairs ones. make sure nothing is blocking the vents etc.

 

[Electric Amish]

Originally posted by: dtyn
I'm designing a Central Air System right now with about 25 different zones, so I think 2 would be no problem . My house is set up in a 6 zone system, Constant Volume (Non-Mixing), Variable Temperature Constant Volume.

Wow! I bet that's pricey.

 

[Gyrene]

Originally posted by: Electric Amish

Originally posted by: dtyn I'm designing a Central Air System right now with about 25 different zones, so I think 2 would be no problem . My house is set up in a 6 zone system, Constant Volume (Non-Mixing), Variable Temperature Constant Volume.

Wow! I bet that's pricey.

Yea, I wouldn't have it if I didn't work for an HVAC company.

 

[FeathersMcGraw]

Originally posted by: Electric Amish
You would need 2 furnaces, or at least a furnace and another blower.

Actually, depending on your venting network, this can be accomplished with a single heating/cooling unit and the installation of a diverter, although I doubt you'd be able to, say, heat the downstairs and cool the upstairs simultaneously.

 

[Saltin]

Yeah, it's called a balled up wad of towels in the ducts you don't want cold air coming through.

 

[Electric Amish]

Originally posted by: dtyn

Originally posted by: Electric Amish

Originally posted by: dtyn I'm designing a Central Air System right now with about 25 different zones, so I think 2 would be no problem . My house is set up in a 6 zone system, Constant Volume (Non-Mixing), Variable Temperature Constant Volume.

Wow! I bet that's pricey.

Yea, I wouldn't have it if I didn't work for an HVAC company.

Yeah, that's what I expected. Got a fancy air handler from work?

That'd be pretty cool!

 

[Gyrene]

Let's just say I obtained this unit and this unit for about $500 a piece. http://www.trane.com/Residential/Products/AirConditioners/XL19iAC.asp

 

[dman]

We have a split system. Unfortunately the upstairs unit cools off the master bedroom much more than the other upstairs area. the big problem is that the upstairs is open to the downstairs for most of the area. The thermostat is in the loft area of upstairs so all the hot-air from downstairs rises up, causing the upstairs a/c to think it's hot in the bedrooms and kick on. Then it gets freakin' cold in the bedrooms and hot in the open area upstairs.

I've gotten better at balancing the two zones but it's still not great. I might move the thermostat to another spot, but, it's 'supposed' to be by the A/C Air handler.

 

[sharkeeper]

Put a boiler and a chiller in your basement. Run HW and CW loops throughout your dwelling. Put a FCU/HVU wherever you need to control the temp. Adding OAT sensors for HW reverse reset in the winter helps reduce fuel cost. Temp problems will be a thing of the past. Of course getting everything to work along with the hardware can get rather expensive. If your chiller is over ten tons, three phase power is required...

-DAK-

 

[Gyrene]

Originally posted by: shuttleteam
Put a boiler and a chiller in your basement. Run HW and CW loops throughout your dwelling. Put a FCU/HVU wherever you need to control the temp. Adding OAT sensors for HW reverse reset in the winter helps reduce fuel cost. Temp problems will be a thing of the past. Of course getting everything to work along with the hardware can get rather expensive. If your chiller is over ten tons, three phase power is required... -DAK-

Wow, I usually see chillers used in medium-sized office buildings...not houses. I'm not quite sure your way is the most cost efficient to make two seperate zones. Lifer, if you can, post what design you have currently.