I have a family member (lets call him Bro) with a small problem with the design of their recently purchased house.  You see, their house is a decently sized house (about 2,500 square feet), but their furnace/air conditioner is designed for a 1,800 square foot house.  So, the upstairs rooms are way too hot in summer and too way to cold (about 45 degrees) in winter.

A new furnace/air conditioner would cost thousands of dollars, which my Bro doesn’t want to pay for.  So instead, he is contemplating installing floor board heaters and room air conditioners.  This would make the rooms look presentable (although the room air conditioners wouldn’t be that nice looking)! 

But I think I know of a better solution!  What if instead, a small fan was place over the vents, then turned on to suck the air out from the vents.  When the fan is not in use, it can be stored under the bed or in the closet.  This would be the cheapest solution of all the options.

Perhaps there is a company out there that has a more elegant solution than my fan idea.   Maybe someone already makes a fan that replaces the grill so it’s is more aesthetically pleasing to the eyes and less hassle!

In the rooms that are not in use, my Bro can just keep the fans stored away someplace until needed.

Do you think my frugal solution will work?  Have you ever come up with non-conventional solutions for major flaws?

-MR