Given that sleeping in a cool bedroom is more comfortable and better for your health, no one wants the upper floor of their house to get too hot. Thankfully, if you have noticed your home becoming uncomfortably warm upstairs, there's usually a fixable explanation beyond the unavoidable scientific fact that 'heat rises'. Here are 3 possible reasons why your upstairs rooms are getting hot and how to deal with them.

Your Attic

Does your house have an attic? If so, it could be the cause of your hot upper floor. Since attics aren't as common in Australia as they are in other countries, many people aren't aware of how quickly attics can become like a furnace in the summer. As the weather heats up, the sun shines down on your home and heats up the air in your attic too. If you don't have any attic insulation, this hot air will quickly radiate through the attic floor, passing into the rooms underneath. Even if you do have insulation, it may have become worn over time, allowing hot air to pass down into your upstairs floor. The best way to fix this problem is to get new attic insulation, creating a solid thermal barrier to keep hot air out of your upstairs rooms. As an added benefit, if you live in the southern end of the country where winters can be chilly, attic insulation will also keep your home warmer when the weather cools down.

Your Landscaping

Sometimes, higher upstairs temperatures aren't a case of something making your upper floor hotter—they're a case of something making your lower floor cooler. Landscaping, in particular, is one thing that can cool down your downstairs rooms. If you have young trees, ornamental grasses or other tall shrubbery in your yard, it may be shielding your downstairs windows from the sunlight. This helps keep your lower floor cool, but the sun will continue to hit your upstairs windows and make your upper floor hot. In this case, one of the easiest ways to help keep your home cooler upstairs is to block sunlight from your upper floors in another way—with better window coverings. Try switching to insulated roller blinds or curtains on your upstairs windows and see if you feel any improvement.

Your Air Conditioning

If your downstairs air conditioning is working perfectly fine, you may think your upstairs air conditioners will be too. However, while it may seem logical that air conditioners wear down at the same rate no matter what floor they're on, that's not always the case. Since heat rises, the AC units on your upper floor may have been working harder to keep your upstairs cool, which could make them break down sooner. If insulating your attic and buying new window coverings doesn't work for you, it could be time to have your HVAC system inspected and buy a new air conditioner that can meet your needs.