Run Central A/C fan 24/7?

I have a home that was built in 1986 in South Florida. It is a 2-
story with only a single central unit. The upstairs has always been
warmer than downstairs. I have always used the "auto" setting for the
fan, but found that the house has the roller coaster effect when the
unit cycles on and off. BTW, the unit IS correctly matched for the
house, so it is not over or under rated for the SQ footage of the
house.

I read somewhere that when there is a 2-story home w/out zoned A/C, it
is preferable to run the fan 24/7 because it will keep circulating the
air from upstairs thus keeping the whole house more consistent with
temperature. Does this make sense?

The unit that I have is an Intertherm and it has a variable speed fan,
so it is moving 1600 cu.ft. when the compressor is on, and when it is
off, the fan slows to 1/2 speed.

Thanks in advance for any help or advice.

SD

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Run Central A/C fan 24/7?
    ... I never read that anywhere but my old house had central air and leaving the ... fan on did always make it more comfortable upstairs. ... hours only at night when I needed the upstairs to be colder. ...
    (alt.home.repair)
  • Re: Upstairs too hot
    ... If we get the upstairs comfortable, the downstairs is like an ice box. ... The house is about 20 years old. ... Add or improve gable vents (Including maybe a T-stat controlled fan pulling out), and unblock or add soffitt vents. ... you can do a poor man's zoning of the cooling system by the old trick of partially blocking some of the downstairs registers and air returns. ...
    (alt.home.repair)
  • Re: Upstairs too hot
    ... Noticeably hotter. ... The house is about 20 years old. ... Only a fan? ... Generally tends to be livable in the upstairs until we get ...
    (alt.home.repair)
  • Re: Run Central A/C fan 24/7?
    ... The upstairs has always been ... but found that the house has the roller coaster effect when the ... is preferable to run the fan 24/7 because it will keep circulating the ... Your other option if the upper floor really needs to be cooler during the day rather than just in evenings/nights is to experiment w/ register settings to see if by closing some of those downstairs you can get a little better/more even circulation. ...
    (alt.home.repair)
  • Re: Run Central A/C fan 24/7?
    ... Well it's good that it has a dual-speed fan, it can lessen the impact on your electric bill of the 24/7 operation. ... If the fan continues running after the compressor shuts off, the moisture in the evaporator can get ... re-absorbed by the air in the house, ... The unit that I have is an Intertherm and it has a variable speed fan, ...
    (alt.home.repair)