We don’t get great ventilation through our house in the summer. I’m thinking of installing a whole house fan. Anyone have any experiences? Any specific recommendations for brands?
Whole house fan
- Thread starter theiacowtipper
- Start date
Got an attic fan....works well on those 65-75 degree days where it isn't hot enough for ac or cold enough to kick on the heat.
Whole house fan is correct. If you live in mild winter area they are fine but they are hard to insulate and seal in cold winter areas.
You would need to get in the attic every fall and seal and insulate then remove in spring
They're perfect for locations with cool evenings and less humidity. New England is an example. Most summer days don't require (much) AC, and you can cool the house down quickly once the sun sets. Agree with the comment that insulation (above the system) is key for winter.
Can you explain that? I had an attic fan when I lived in Connecticut, and I don't recall any special insulation. I had the usual attic insulation with several vent screens all around. The fan just had flaps that opened. I turned it on by opening the attic ladder.
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OP, I had one in my last house. It kicked ass. You can cool a house in half the time as an air conditioner
Doesn't make much sense in Iowa. All you would be doing is pulling in humid air. My uncle has one in Estes Park, there it makes total sense.
This wouldn’t replace my air conditioner except in like May/June and September/October. Our issue is that there is no or little natural ventilation in our house.
They complement your ac. You use them at night when it cools off way below your ac temp setting after a hot day. Exchanges the air and cools the house down super fast.
Yep. Never used it during the day, but at night, cooled the entire house in about 10 minutes. Mine was loud as F, but worth it.
Welcome to inland CA, where august and September regularly have multiple days in the 100s.
It doesn’t. But we don’t have much humidity out here so it can be 100 at 6:00 and 75 at 10:30. So we run it for an hour or so before bed if the temps drop enough.
We had one in KC. Was great for spring/fall, especially during the day when no one was home so the AC didn't need to run. It basically sucks out all the hot air that has accumulated in the upstairs during the day and draws in cool air from outside. Think 85 degree day and 70 degree nights.
I think the best gauge is open window season. Do you open your windows when you get home from work? If so, then it's a great time to run the whole house fan. I also find it is relatively ineffective if you don't have open windows. We would often open our back door for 10 minutes because it has to draw air from somewhere. Not something you run continuously or for long bursts like the AC.
We had one like this. The vents closed when not drawing air:
Not like this:
I think the best gauge is open window season. Do you open your windows when you get home from work? If so, then it's a great time to run the whole house fan. I also find it is relatively ineffective if you don't have open windows. We would often open our back door for 10 minutes because it has to draw air from somewhere. Not something you run continuously or for long bursts like the AC.
We had one like this. The vents closed when not drawing air:
Not like this:
