TheSamba.com :: View topic - Advice- Whole House Fans

Thu May 22, 2008 10:15 pm

I am buying a new home, but it does not have a whole house fan system . Keeping the house cool and saving money on electric bill sounds interesting, but do not have a lot of

Information, like how much am I saving really vs. the set up expenses? My new neighbor has purchased a whole house fan from Houseneeds.com and told that he is happy with the performance.

Some of the questions I have about the whole house fan system:

Are they worth the time and expense?
Are they quite?
How difficult would this be to add after we move in?
Can anybody recommend a reliable and cost effective brand?
Is this a project I could do myself over a weekend?

Any suggestions or help would be appreciated.

Thu May 22, 2008 10:27 pm

It is my understanding that if you have a new home, you need a whole house fan. New homes are so air tight you need to get some circulation, that is why they are installed.
Generally they connect the fan in furnace and one of your bath or laundry fans to a time clock. Once a day for about a hour the furnace pulls in fresh air and the bath fan pulls out the stale air.............

I think. :wink:

Edit:

I clicked on you link. That is a attic fan. Hmmm, I guess whole house fans are different around here.
Those look pretty cool though (no pun intended), I'm sure they would help if you live in a hot area. Which I don't. :(

Fri May 23, 2008 5:34 am

Much is going to depend on how large your home is and where you are located. Here in PA, our summer season usually only has a month or so of really hot weather (usually). I installed a gable vent fan from Home Depot on our 100 year old two-story, and keep the attic scuttle open during the summer. I've got the fan to kick on at 110 degrees, and when it does, I can definately feel the cool-down, so long as I've got the windows open on the first floor.
Bottom line - depends on your needs. If your new home doesn't have central air, which it sounds like it doesn't, it's not a bad investment. It'll help keep your attic cooler by providing air circulation (thereby allowing your shingles to live longer) and provide some air circulation through the home. If your house doesn't have ridge vents, now would be a good time to put them in, too. They alone will help rid the attic of heat build-up.

R

Fri May 23, 2008 7:29 am

If your house has an attic, then the fan system that straddles the rafters in the hallway is an excellent addition. The ones Home Depot sells are usually under $150, and can be installed in a few hours. They are noisey, but the idea behind this type is when you come home in the afternoon on a hot day, you can run it for ten minutes or so and it will not only remove the hot air from the living space, it will also cool down the attic.
Now your A/C won't be working so hard to remove the rest of the heat from your home.

I have installed many of these for customers in So Cal over the years, and have heard nothing but great comments from the customers.

Fri May 23, 2008 1:15 pm

Letterman7 wrote:
It'll help keep your attic cooler by providing air circulation (thereby allowing your shingles to live longer)

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Fri May 23, 2008 2:03 pm

There are two options. The first is the single, large fan you put in a hallway. The other, more expensive option, si to put smaller exhaust fans in each room (or in each second floor room for a 2-story). They work the same, as posted, removing warm air form the house and hot air from the attic. The advantage of the several smaller units is that they are often quieter, and you don't have to leave each room's door open.

If you are in Cali, call Edison and inquire about their rebat e programs, which can cut the installation cost by 25-50%.

Use a trusted installer. A bad one will hack your ceilings, create a wiring fire hazard, and it can be noisy to operate.

Payback is usually 3-5 years, depending on your climate and how you use your A/C.

Fri May 23, 2008 3:12 pm

KTPhil wrote: There are two options. The first is the single, large fan you put in a hallway. The other, more expensive option, si to put smaller exhaust fans in each room (or in each second floor room for a 2-story). They work the same, as posted, removing warm air form the house and hot air from the attic. The advantage of the several smaller units is that they are often quieter, and you don't have to leave each room's door open.

If you are in Cali, call Edison and inquire about their rebat e programs, which can cut the installation cost by 25-50%.

Use a trusted installer. A bad one will hack your ceilings, create a wiring fire hazard, and it can be noisy to operate.

Payback is usually 3-5 years, depending on your climate and how you use your A/C.

If the homeowner takes advantage of the PG&E/Edison rebates, I would think it could possible pay for itself in the first season. Taking the initial load off of the condensing unit during hot condition start-ups will add years to the service life of the unit also, you really can't go wrong.

Mon May 26, 2008 2:25 am

Hi Guys ..

Thanks for that useful info. This would help me to determine what I m exactly going to install at home. Shall let you know the outcome.

Mon May 26, 2008 5:07 pm

The first season was the best. It really jumped the shark when the olsens started to get more air time, and Uncle Jesse's band seemed to play in every episode.

Tue May 27, 2008 2:02 pm

bljones wrote: The first season was the best. It really jumped the shark when the olsens started to get more air time, and Uncle Jesse's band seemed to play in every episode.

That was "Full House" not whole house! It would be a great show now that the Olsens have grown up though!

BTW, about the whole house fan, if you have a fireplace or woodstove and your house is sealed tight when the fan is on it will pull soot back into your house!

Wed Jun 04, 2008 3:22 pm

I have the large hallway fan and it works great...turn it on in the morning pull in cool air & blow out the warm air then before the temp starts to rise, turn it off, then close up the house and in case I run ceiling fans, even on hot days I can hold off turning the air on until 3:00 or so. I also have double pane windows, between the two it saves a lot of money.

Wed Jun 04, 2008 3:56 pm

69 Jim wrote: If your house has an attic, then the fan system that straddles the rafters in the hallway is an excellent addition. The ones Home Depot sells are usually under $150, and can be installed in a few hours. They are noisey, but the idea behind this type is when you come home in the afternoon on a hot day, you can run it for ten minutes or so and it will not only remove the hot air from the living space, it will also cool down the attic.
Now your A/C won't be working so hard to remove the rest of the heat from your home.

I have one in my old 1920's house installed like this. It's f'n great - I can open the windows and air out the entire house (and attic) in 30 seconds!

Wed Jun 04, 2008 4:02 pm

Culito wrote: 69 Jim wrote: If your house has an attic, then the fan system that straddles the rafters in the hallway is an excellent addition. The ones Home Depot sells are usually under $150, and can be installed in a few hours. They are noisey, but the idea behind this type is when you come home in the afternoon on a hot day, you can run it for ten minutes or so and it will not only remove the hot air from the living space, it will also cool down the attic.
Now your A/C won't be working so hard to remove the rest of the heat from your home.

I have one in my old 1920's house installed like this. It's f'n great - I can open the windows and air out the entire house (and attic) in 30 seconds!

Glad to hear it. When installed properly they are truly amazing.
Luckily you ditched that mullet. :wink:

Wed Jun 04, 2008 8:07 pm

i live in a cape so a whole house fan is impossible. I need to get an attic fan to get the hot air outta there. Or at least that is what i am told. Finally forking over the dough to get central A/C hooked up here on Tues. Not going to help this weekend when the highs will be 90 and 93 degrees on Sat and Sun. UGGGGHHH......

Wed Jun 04, 2008 8:40 pm

Red68 wrote: I have the large hallway fan and it works great...turn it on in the morning pull in cool air & blow out the warm air then before the temp starts to rise, turn it off, then close up the house and in case I run ceiling fans, even on hot days I can hold off turning the air on until 3:00 or so. I also have double pane windows, between the two it saves a lot of money.

Just wait until those double pane windows fail, then get back to me on the cost savings when you have to replace them.

Thu Jun 05, 2008 12:21 am

69 Jim wrote: Culito wrote: 69 Jim wrote: If your house has an attic, then the fan system that straddles the rafters in the hallway is an excellent addition. The ones Home Depot sells are usually under $150, and can be installed in a few hours. They are noisey, but the idea behind this type is when you come home in the afternoon on a hot day, you can run it for ten minutes or so and it will not only remove the hot air from the living space, it will also cool down the attic.
Now your A/C won't be working so hard to remove the rest of the heat from your home.

I have one in my old 1920's house installed like this. It's f'n great - I can open the windows and air out the entire house (and attic) in 30 seconds!

Glad to hear it. When installed properly they are truly amazing.
Luckily you ditched that mullet. :wink:

Either you knew me in high school, or you are truly phychic.

Thu Jun 05, 2008 10:01 am

We have the whole house fan that mounts in the ceiling from the attic in our 107 year old farm house. I love it. You can open a window downstairs and it will pull the air through the house. Keeps the house nice and cool. It has two speeds .... 1: Calm breezy peaceful day and 2: hurricane :lol: A little noisy but originally being from the city I like the noise..it helps me sleep at night. I hate when its dead quiet.

Thu Jun 05, 2008 1:15 pm

I stopped selling them 10 years ago when the quality go so bad. The Idea is sound but only on a older home. If you have a new home you are better off leaving the A/C on and do something to prevent heat gain like plant trees or put up shade on the southern exposures of the house.

Thu Jun 05, 2008 1:50 pm

I disagree on just using the AC. Where I live (also in the santa Clarita area), the air cools down quickly after sunset most summer days. As soon as the outside air is under 80 (our set point indoors), we open the house and hit the fans. It clears out the stale air, gets the hot air out of the attic, so it doesn't radiate down on us all evening. If we don't, the AC still runs nearly full time to get it to/below 80 for several hours in the evening. That's gotta cost a bunch of money.

We also run it again in the morning to suck really cool air all through the house, and it delays the need for AC by 2-3 hours.

This is predicated on the nightly temp drop in a near-desert climate. Other areas might not see as much benefit.

I emphasize the advantage of the smaller room by room fans, since you can close the doors for privacy and noise (we have teenagers), and still run the fan or fans to push our the hot air. We have it on a timer so it runs for X hours and shuts itself off.

Thu Jun 05, 2008 3:15 pm

KTPhil wrote: I disagree on just using the AC. Where I live (also in the santa Clarita area), the air cools down quickly after sunset most summer days. As soon as the outside air is under 80 (our set point indoors), we open the house and hit the fans. It clears out the stale air, gets the hot air out of the attic, so it doesn't radiate down on us all evening. If we don't, the AC still runs nearly full time to get it to/below 80 for several hours in the evening. That's gotta cost a bunch of money.

We also run it again in the morning to suck really cool air all through the house, and it delays the need for AC by 2-3 hours.

This is predicated on the nightly temp drop in a near-desert climate. Other areas might not see as much benefit.

I emphasize the advantage of the smaller room by room fans, since you can close the doors for privacy and noise (we have teenagers), and still run the fan or fans to push our the hot air. We have it on a timer so it runs for X hours and shuts itself off.

Agreed, the whole idea is to run the A/C as little as possible. :wink: