Whole House Fan

[Hershey]

In the last few days, I've begun to seriously consider a whole house fan. We have a really nice central air and heat, but it's too expensive to run it. There's a fan, but it's not whole house, and really doesn't do a whole lot to cool anything. I can't find any pricing examples to determine if it's something I can finagle or not (income is limited). So here are a few questions for those of you who might have a whole house fan now --

1) Is there a brand that you prefer?
2) I've read about belt vs drive driven fans. Which would you get?
3) Any pricing examples, even if vague, that someone can give using an average size home (small really)?
4) Lastly, is there such a thing as putting one of these in just a section of the home, say the lived in half versus the other half where it really doesn't matter?

Thanks!

 

[KennyV]

Whole house fans work OK in some places, not so good in others... It depends on your outside temp and humidity.
A whole house fan removes the air in your house and of course it is replaced with outside air... so if you are only needing to get rid of trapped hot air in your house and the outside air is going to be cooler, then a Whole House will work for you.
The expensive part is going to be the instillation, both the provisions for air to flow into your attic and enough ventilation for the air to leave the attic.
Have you considered ceiling fans in the rooms. Good ceiling fans operated properly along with dehumidification when needed, works very well. KennyV

 

[rekees]

We had a house with a whole house fan for 18 years. They really aren't a replacement for an A/C. Even though the temperature outside is lower, the humidity is higher so when you're in bed it doesn't feel any cooler.

 

[Hershey]

We have a very nice central air/heat system, but it's just too expensive to run and the fan that is with it doesn't do squat. As it happens, we often get a wonderful delta breeze at night. Here's an example. Outside, it's 65. Inside, it's 80, and I'm talking midnight. The house has a horrible back exposure where an Oak tree that was cut used to provide shade but had to be cut down. Since then, it's been a nightmare. The heat stagnantes, and that's with ceiling fans, new energy efficient windows, and sun screens. All of these have lowered the temp a couple of degrees from what it used to be, but it's still 80 inside and 65 outside.

 

[KennyV]

80 inside and 65 outside.

When it is like that ... 80:65 . What is the humidity outside? what is the humidity inside?
with those numbers it is relatively easy to calculate the help a whole house fan will give you. KennyV

 

[Hershey]

I don't have any way of measuring humidity. It's usually not a big factor here in Northern California though. It's rare that humidity is upsetting.

 

[patches]

The suggestion of installing ceiling fans is a good one. They work well to make a room feel cooler. I can't imagine a whole house fan working any better.

 

[sunny]

The addition of a whole house fan is our next home improvement project. It's just something my husband and I both grew up with so we miss having one now. It definitely helps around here in the spring and fall.

 

[AndyMan]

I've never heard of a Whole House Fan. How do they work? We don't have A/C. We just open the windows and let the fresh air in. When we need more than that, we set a box fan in the window to help circulate the air.

 

[SallyA]

My neighbor installed a whole house fan himself not long ago. He told me that they are supposed to pull air through the entire house, which makes the house feel cooler. He found out real quickly that in order to achieve that, you have to have enough of an opening to the outside to have the air exchange that is needed. Honestly, I would install ceiling fans. They work great without the aggravation of major modifications and expense.