My idea is to vent the build up of hot air that has risen to the ceiling in the hotspot rooms into the attic so that air from cooler parts of the house can move in.
Hot air from attic behind wall.
Energy vanguard figure 5.
Taking advantage of this natural process referred to as passive ventilation is the most common way to vent an attic.
Can i put a small swamp cooler or ventless a c unit up there to cool it only to use while i am in my shop maybe an hour or two a couple times a week.
As long as you have effective windows good weatherstripping and attic insulation your house should stay at a moderate temperature with the hvac system running intermittently.
I have large attic with ridge vents and screened vents at either end of the attic to maintain air flow.
Low cfm similar to a bathroom vent 300cfm and only in the hot spots basically by adding an inline ducting fan to the return ducts for the hotspot rooms.
Alternatively install passive vents such as gable soffit and ridge vents which are openings in the roof that allow hot air to escape.
This type of vent runs along the entire ridge of your roof.
This sends hot air up and out cooling your house and your attic.
However for best results you must have sufficient vents to allow for the free airflow.
Energy vanguard figure 6.
It is placed at the highest point of your roof so that the hot air rises to get out.
Hot or cold attic air can go right under the floor of the adjoining conditioned space.
I have a shop in my attic for some of my hobbies and it get s very hot in the summer.
They have thermostats that turn the fan on at a recommended preset temperature of 100 110 degrees.
The idea behind them is simple.
They differ from whole house fans which are attic installed fans intended to cool the entire home rather than simply maintain proper attic temperature.
Install electric ventilators and attic fans which remove hot air from an attic.
Floor joists below kneewall with no blocking.
A powerful fan draws cooler early morning and evening air through open doors and windows and forces it up through the attic and out the roof vents.
This will keep your attic cooler which will reduce the cooling load on your home.
If attic air can reach the drywall there s little resistance to heat flow between the attic and conditioned space.
If your house is too cold or too hot despite the furnace or air conditioner constantly running you may begin to wonder what s going on.