To handle this problem there are four common ways to improve cooling on your second floor.
How to keep 2nd floor cool.
Air sealing prevents conditioned air from leaving the home.
Reducing the airflow to the first floor with also ensure longer cycle times as your thermostat is most likely on the first floor as well.
Use a floor fan or ceiling fan to improve or direct cold air flow upstairs.
Set the fan to be on all the time.
If you allow sunlight to shine in through a window you are adding heat to your home.
Keeping your blinds closed in areas that are unbearably hot will reduce the temperature of your upstairs.
To prevent the heat from rising separate the two floors with a door or curtains so your efforts to cool the second story are not lost when heat from below rises to replace any cool air.
Remove any furniture blocking the air flow.
Locate all of the vents on the second floor and check to see if they are blocked in any way.
Air seal the windows in the attic and second floor.
Consider installing power or ridge vents to help cool the attic and provide better ventilation which also helps prevent ice dams in winter.
Use curtains and drapes to block sunlight.
Block off the second story from the ground floor.
These appliances draw excess moisture out of a room and collect it into a bucket for disposal or routed into a drain.
If humidity is the chief agent behind your second floor not being cool enough you should look into purchasing a dehumidifier.
Longer cycle times mean more cool air is getting to the second floor.
Fully open each vent to allow for maximum air flow.
An excellent way to keep the second floor of your house cool is to close your blinds or curtains.
Open doors on the second floor so air is more evenly distributed when using a central ac system close doors that lead to rooms where cooling isn t a priority when using a supplemental ac unit upgrade your thermostat to a programmable or smart wifi version.
Keeping cool in a 2 story house from a lot of experience i can say that a simple easy to implement yet significant contribution to improving a 2nd floor that gets too hot in summer is to install insulating shades lower them in the morning then raise and vent at night.
This will block the excess heat from the sunlight.
Make the second floor return vent duct bigger.