Sunday, April 28, 2024

Cooling with a Whole House Fan Department of Energy

whole house fan

A whole-house fan is a large electric fan, usually centrally located within a home or other building, that circulates air through the entire place. It pulls in fresh air from open windows and doors and pushes hot air out and into an attic, where it can then escape through attic vents. Attic ventilation will usually need to be increased to exhaust the fan's air outdoors.

SOLAR GABLE ATTIC FAN

A general rule is that you need a minimum of 1 to 2 CFM (cubic feet per minute) of airflow per square foot of living space. It is best to consult with a professional installer or manufacturer for specific recommendations based on your home’s unique characteristics. The whole house fan pulls air in from open windows and exhausts it through the attic and roof. It provides good attic ventilation in addition to whole house cooling.

Best Types of Whole House Fans in 2024

Whole house fans pull cooler(evening) air in through open windows and doors and push the warm air into the attic. A balanced ventilation system usually has two fans and two duct systems. It also exhausts air from rooms where moisture and pollutants are most often generated (kitchen, bathrooms, and perhaps the laundry room). When the scorching heat of summer settles in, finding ways to keep our homes cool becomes a top priority.

How to size a whole house fan:

A powerful fan motor system featuring a gravity inline damper to prevent energy loss and 18” flexible, “whisper quiet” acoustic ducting. A ventilator ceiling grill (ceiling box) that can be installed in a ceiling or wall. An 8-hour digital timer and double stack switch for use with multiple fans.

Others prefer fresh air over the stale recirculated air that A/C systems produce and use the whole house fan exclusively. On the other hand, Installing a fan of this type is very straightforward for capable DIY homeowners. Since each fan type has very different installation methods, we recommend carefully following the instructions for the type you select. This year we celebrate 23 years of selling whole house fans online, Over the years, we have saved our clients, hundreds of thousands of dollars by lowering their utility costs, and keeping them cool. Professional installation is recommended to ensure the fan is correctly positioned and operates optimally. Additionally, regular maintenance, such as cleaning the fan blades and lubricating the motor, will prolong its lifespan and maintain its efficiency.

Can I run the whole house fan with the AC on?

The last type of whole-house fan (and our first choice) we recommend is the “In-Line” whole-house fan. By design, it is the most effective whole-house fan and one that is also centrally located in the home. To operate a whole-house fan, you simply schedule (a wall timer) or turn it on manually, at a time in the evening when the temperature outside is lower than inside your home. We help homeowners make confident decisions through our reliable, up-to-date, and unbiased information and average project costs.

Installing A Whole House Fan

Be sure your installer has the proper licenses (if required) and is fully insured with workers comp and liability insurance. Make sure there are no complaints against the installer filed with your local consumer affairs office. Any handyman, electrician, contractor or DIY homeowner can quickly and easily install a whole house fan in your home, office or commercial space. Whole house fan installation really is fast and easy for any tradesperson, handyman or even a handy homeowner. Watch our video and find out how cool installing a whole house fan can be (no pun Whole House Fan Installation Is Fast and Easy.

The powerful circulation provided by our Whole House Fans means your A/C unit can chill and only work when needed – significantly lowering energy consumption and your bills. This will cause the back-drafting of lethal gases that are supposed to be vented out. It is recommended to partially open two or three windows when running a whole house fan. If the house is big, more windows may need to be opened to ensure sufficient airflow. Flip the switch and run the whole house fan at its highest speed for around half an hour or so.

whole house fan

During winter, the whole house fans should be winterized to prevent any heat loss from the house. Also, opening the windows opposite to the sun and those which are far away from the location of the fan will help to draw cooler air and to circulate it through more areas of the house. Install a whole house fan and discover our “whisper quiet” difference.

High-efficiency whole-house fans may use advanced technologies, like EC motors or advanced airflow designs, to cool your home as well as possible and be as efficient as possible. Advanced Whole House Fans have many benefits besides just cooling the home and help reducing electricity costs. They help to greatly improve the indoor air quality of a home by exhausting and ventilating the hot, stuffy and polluted air that is inside the home. This is due to the chemicals that are used in the home, pet dander, germs, allergens, etc. Most energy recovery ventilation systems can recover about 70% to 80% of the energy in the exiting air and deliver that energy to the incoming air.

The best cooling fans of 2024, tested by editors - CNN Underscored

The best cooling fans of 2024, tested by editors.

Posted: Fri, 08 Mar 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Keep reading to learn more about which of the best whole-house fans is a good fit for your home. This results in a more comfortable living environment, improved air quality, and a drop in AC usage by 50-90%. In fact, today’s whole house exhaust fans pay for themselves on average within 1.5 years, making them the most cost effective “green energy appliance” on the market. Yes, whole house fans are generally more energy-efficient than air conditioning systems.

Modern Advanced Whole House Fans can be more effective and easier to use because they have things like EC motors with different speeds, advanced airflow designs, and quiet operation. If you live in a place with mild weather, these fans can be a cheaper and more energy-efficient way to cool your home than a traditional air conditioner. The whole house fan is typically installed in the ceiling on the top floor of the house, preferably in a central location like the hallway or a large open space. When turned on, the fan pulls air from the living spaces and expels it into the attic. As the hot indoor air is pushed into the attic, it escapes through the attic vents, allowing cool air from outside to be drawn in through open windows and doors. This creates a flow of air that refreshes and cools down the entire house, effectively reducing indoor temperatures.

Choosing the suitable model for your house can be intimidating if you’ve never installed a fan that evacuates all the air from your living space. Plus, you don’t want to install a small house fan that isn’t effective. Whole house fans and attic fans are both ventilation systems, but they serve different purposes and operate in distinct ways. If your fan doesn't come with a tight-sealing winter cover, you should either buy one or build one.

Energy-efficient homes -- both new and existing -- require mechanical ventilation to maintain indoor air quality. There are four basic mechanical whole-house ventilation systems -- exhaust, supply, balanced, and energy recovery. A quiet Advanced Whole House Fan is also known as a modern or advanced type of ventilation system that is made to make as little noise as possible. Many modern Advanced Whole House Fans are made to be quiet, but you should always do research and compare different models to find the one that fits your needs best. Yes, a Advanced Whole House Fan can be a single fan that is made to cool the whole house. They are made to pull cool air in through the windows and push hot air out through the attic.

Opening just enough windows will create a cool breeze throughout the house, and this is the most recommended setting. So do some trial and error and find out how many windows you want to keep open. Newer whole-house fans include a wall switch with a timer or thermostat, which you can set and adjust to suit your needs.

If you live closer to the coast or at higher elevations, you may be able to eliminate A/C usage completely. If you live more inland, you may be able to save up to 70-75% off A/C related costs, and possibly even more in the other seasons. If you live more inland in a desert climate, you may be able to save up to 50-75% off A/C related costs, and possibly even more in the other seasons. If you live more inland in a desert climate, you may be able to save up to 60-75% off A/C related costs, and possibly even more in the other seasons. If you live more inland in a desert climate, you may be able to save up to 50-75% off A/C related costs in the Summer, and possibly even more in the other seasons. An Advanced Whole House Fan can cool your home, just like an air conditioning system, but in a completely different way.

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