Who has a whole house fan?

[Colonoscopy]

Are those still common?

I miss having one. A night like this would be perfect. Still stuffy inside, but it's upper 60s outside now and the place would be cooled down in 2 minutes with fresh air.

Maybe they're not too much to add on.

Our house growing up had one. Many a night I would be instructed to go open all the windows... we're turning the fan on!

(also a great way to get rid of various stank)

 

[Hawkman98]

I had one and really never noticed a difference. I ended up removing it when I reshingled.

 

[cfbfan23]

We have one. Almost never use it, other than if something burns in the kitchen. There's not a lot of cool (mid/high 60's) dry days in Atlanta where you'd want it on. I usually forget we even have it. I'm guessing the fan got a lot of use before air conditioning became in vogue.

 

[ping72]

I’m not familiar with this item. Never heard of it.

So I’m imagining you living in a one room cabin. Or a giant redneck who calls central air a “whole house fan.”

Im sure I’m wrong, but it’s more enjoyable for me this way.

 

[JupiterHawk]

 

[h-hawk]

We had one in our house too when I was growing up in the 60s and 70s. Ours was centered over the hallway that had the bedrooms and bathroom opening to it. As a kid I did thought it was neat (cool...ha ha) how quickly the temperature could be lowered this way on a cool night. Ours did not have a regular switch, but a thin key that was hung up high so we could not reach it when we were little.

 

[NoleATL]

Are those still common?

I miss having one. A night like this would be perfect. Still stuffy inside, but it's upper 60s outside now and the place would be cooled down in 2 minutes with fresh air.

Maybe they're not too much to add on.

Our house growing up had one. Many a night I would be instructed to go open all the windows... we're turning the fan on!

(also a great way to get rid of various stank)

I had one in a 1970 brick ranch I owned. I never used it much because the best time in Atlanta is in the spring but you end up sucking in all the pine pollen.

 

[Tom Paris]

Are those still common?

I miss having one. A night like this would be perfect. Still stuffy inside, but it's upper 60s outside now and the place would be cooled down in 2 minutes with fresh air.

Maybe they're not too much to add on.

Our house growing up had one. Many a night I would be instructed to go open all the windows... we're turning the fan on!

(also a great way to get rid of various stank)

We have one. It works really well.

 

[The Tradition]

Oddly, we have one in the garage here at Tradition Manor. The previous owner also had a screen over one of the garage doors that could be rolled up or down. I think he used that side of the garage for a workout area or something. If you crack the garage door or a window it really gets a breeze running through there.

 

[QChawks]

my in-laws have one in their two story house and it does a decent job circulating the air although it's loud as SHIT.

i'm guessing the newer one are much quieter

 

[jberesford]

Must be a regional thing. As someone who remodels older property in the midwest for a living, I have NEVER seen such a thing here. And unless you actually power vent it out of the attic it seems pretty pointless. Maybe its assumed you have some type of power vent to purge the attic air versus passive venting.

Of a similar note, I take off one of the caps on my return air assembly during summer. Wether just in fan mode or if the AC is actually running it pulls a larger amount of cooler air into the HVAC system. Even if the fan is just periodically coming on it just helps redistributes cooler air.

 

[The Tradition]

Must be a regional thing. As someone who remodels older property in the midwest for a living, I have NEVER seen such a thing here. And unless you actually power vent it out of the attic it seems pretty pointless. Maybe its assumed you have some type of power vent to purge the attic air versus passive venting.

Of a similar note, I take off one of the caps on my return air assembly during summer. Wether just in fan mode or if the AC is actually running it pulls a larger amount of cooler air into the HVAC system. Even if the fan is just periodically coming on it just helps redistributes cooler air.

It just pulls the air into the attic, where it goes out the vents. Attics aren't vented in the Midwest? We have vented soffits and ridge vents on our roof. As a bonus, it also helps cool your attic.

 

[jberesford]

It just pulls the air into the attic, where it goes out the vents. Attics aren't vented in the Midwest? We have vented soffits and ridge vents on our roof. As a bonus, it also helps cool your attic.

Soffit venting and ridge venting are passive. Neither compares to something like this that actually forces air out. Soffit vents are basically useless anyways as hot attic air doesn't rise out of them.

 

[The Tradition]

Soffit venting and ridge venting are passive. Neither compares to something like this that actually forces air out. Soffit vents are basically useless anyways as hot attic air doesn't rise out of them.

When matched with ridge vents you create an air flow as cool air enters through the soffits, warms up, and rises out of the ridge vents.

Adding a whole house fan to the mix would equate to "powered venting".

 

[jberesford]

When matched with ridge vents you create an air flow as cool air enters through the soffits, warms up, and rises out of the ridge vents.

Adding a whole house fan to the mix would equate to "powered venting".

Gotcha. You've probably re-roofed a lot more houses than I have anyways.

 

[Colonoscopy]

We had one in our house too when I was growing up in the 60s and 70s. Ours was centered over the hallway that had the bedrooms and bathroom opening to it. As a kid I did thought it was neat (cool...ha ha) how quickly the temperature could be lowered this way on a cool night. Ours did not have a regular switch, but a thin key that was hung up high so we could not reach it when we were little.

Exactly our configuration... except we had a dial for it.

 

[Nole-4-Life]

There was one in the house I grew up in until we upgraded to central air. That thing was badass.

 

[rolfey]

I've wanted to put one in our house. House heats up during the day then as it cools outside our house remains hot. Think this would be a good way to cool the house down.
My sister (no pics) had one in their house. It was amazing how fast her house would cool down.

 

[billanole]

We pull cooler air into the house up thru the basement and down the fireplace with ours. Chasing the heat out of the attic does wonders towards a cooler evening.

 

[GlenHawk]

We have one and I love it. I bought a house with no A/C, so we just open the windows and let it run all night then shut the house up around 6am.

 

[bagdropper]

I buddy of mine had an older house that he installed himself, vented to the attic (then out via an newly installed roof vent). He had it in the hallway next to the attic entry ladderway. He installed what amounted to a door (much like the attic ladder) that'd he'd open, then throw the switch.

The thing was huge, like 3 foot square and the frame was more than a foot wide. Almost an industrial type fan...low speed, big blades, fairly quiet as long as you weren't standing under it.

It was amazing how quickly it would air out his house.

 

[Colonoscopy]

I buddy of mine had an older house that he installed himself, vented to the attic (then out via an newly installed roof vent). He had it in the hallway next to the attic entry ladderway. He installed what amounted to a door (much like the attic ladder) that'd he'd open, then throw the switch.

The thing was huge, like 3 foot square and the frame was more than a foot wide. Almost an industrial type fan...low speed, big blades, fairly quiet as long as you weren't standing under it.

It was amazing how quickly it would air out his house.

Right. Like the one I had growing up. Not sure I'm confident enough to do the electrical work myself, but doesn't sound like a hard install. Two fold for me: 1) really dig fresh air, 2) really energy/cost inefficient to run the AC when a few minutes of a full house fan would do the trick.

 

[bagdropper]

Right. Like the one I had growing up. Not sure I'm confident enough to do the electrical work myself, but doesn't sound like a hard install. Two fold for me: 1) really dig fresh air, 2) really energy/cost inefficient to run the AC when a few minutes of a full house fan would do the trick.

Well that's just the catch though. I could handle interior heat when I was younger, but not as I aged.

My thinking is there's a temp window where it replaces AC. Say 75 to maybe 85 tops, and humidity will play a big role in what's tolerable.

AC for me is as much about humidity as it is about temp. I can handle a "dry 80 degrees" when the air is getting circulated. I can't handle that temp when it's humid as hell.

 

[Colonoscopy]

Well that's just the catch though. I could handle interior heat when I was younger, but not as I aged.

My thinking is there's a temp window where it replaces AC. Say 75 to maybe 85 tops, and humidity will play a big role in what's tolerable.

AC for me is as much about humidity as it is about temp. I can handle a "dry 80 degrees" when the air is getting circulated. I can't handle that temp when it's humid as hell.

Yeah, I definitely would be keeping my AC. In a midwestern climate, at least, it'd probably be useful 4, maybe 5 months... mostly during the summer when you have really warm days and still reasonably cool nights. (say, when you get a dewpoint and temp below 65 but were in the 80s all day... those 90/70+ days and nights would still be tough to deal with)

 

[bagdropper]

Yeah, I definitely would be keeping my AC. In a midwestern climate, at least, it'd probably be useful 4, maybe 5 months... mostly during the summer when you have really warm days and still reasonably cool nights. (say, when you get a dewpoint and temp below 65 but were in the 80s all day... those 90/70+ days and nights would still be tough to deal with)

Exactly. It'd be a compliment, not a replacement. Like say it's 90 out - start the fan and run it for 5-10 minutes, then close up and go AC - instead of having the AC run an hour to do the same pre-cooling the fan might do.

Then say 75 to 85, try house fan only...you get the idea there. All houses are different, but there is potential in it. But there'd be a window that it'd probably work fine. Just a matter of finding it. There again is the catch - how much you want to spend to see if it would be beneficial.

 

[HawkMachine]

I'm 45 and never heard of it.

 

[Rifler]

Used to be a pretty popular feature in homes built from the late 40's to early 60's,.. Seemed to disappeared when air conditioning became common place,.. The set up that I'm most familiar with typically also had a gravity or power operated relief damper in the attic. When the whole house fan was turned on the relief damper would open to relieve the excess positive pressure in the attic to the outside. When the fan was off and the damper closed, your attic would vent normally via soffit and ridge vents...

 

[cfbfan23]

Used to be a pretty popular feature in homes built from the late 40's to early 60's,.. Seemed to disappeared when air conditioning became common place,.. The set up that I'm most familiar with typically also had a gravity or power operated relief damper in the attic. When the whole house fan was turned on the relief damper would open to relieve the excess positive pressure in the attic to the outside. When the fan was off and the damper closed, your attic would vent normally via soffit and ridge vents...

That is what I have. It is loud as hell. When our A/C crapped out about 8-10 years ago (in the middle of summer), I was glad we had it. I slept on the floor of the living room right by the screen door. The breeze it provided was welcome.

 

[Rifler]

That is what I have. It is loud as hell. When our A/C crapped out about 8-10 years ago (in the middle of summer), I was glad we had it. I slept on the floor of the living room right by the screen door. The breeze it provided was welcome.

They worked great, and would probably still be a good idea for someone who was willing to use the system as a way to purge a hot house prior to turning on the air conditioning,... I think they disappeared primarily because electricity was cheap and people preferred to just let the AC run 24/7.

 

[Colonoscopy]

I think the worst case scenario is that you're sleeping on your back underneath the fan and you have your erection activated and the fan is so strong it pulls you straight up off the ground into the fan and chops your erection off.