whole house fan

fishhead · #21 10/12/13, 09:12 PM

You might want to investigate solar chimneys.

po boy · #22 10/13/13, 04:30 AM

They are great in the spring and fall/
Our low last night (so far) was about 52. Ran the fan til 4am.................... Good sleeping temp!

Jolly · #23 10/13/13, 09:57 AM

My opinion...

You will still need A/C. In the dog days of summer, a fan just doesn't cut it for me. They do work pretty darn well in Spring and Fall, saving you some money.

They do tend to suck a bit more dust and dirt into the house, so keep that in mind, also.

But looking at the cost/benefit ratio, a fan is well worth the money and labor to install...

valgal · #24 10/13/13, 01:55 PM

I grew up in a house in the 70's with what we called an attic fan. It was amazing how cool it kept the house even in the humid South. When I moved out, I so missed that sound at night!

Doktori · #25 10/13/13, 02:16 PM

Agree with above. An attic fan is totally worth it and pays for itself pretty quick.

Chuck R. · #26 10/13/13, 03:17 PM

We had a whole house fan in the house we owned when I was stationed at Ft. Lewis, WA. House didn’t have AC and the fan was programmable, worked excellent. Our previosu house here in KS had an attic fan, it worked but as one poster mentioned, it sounded like a plane taking off.

In our current house we have an AlpinePure HRV (Heat Recovery Ventilator) which is a requirement for our Geothermal system and ICF construction. Basically it acts as a whole house fan using existing duct work and also acts as a whole house dehumidifier when the outside humidity is higher than inside during the heating season. It’s also functions as the bathroom and kitchen fan systems and exchanges fresh air when turned on. Cool part is the main unit is in the mechanical room so it’s pretty silent when in use.

Chuck

fishhead · #27 10/14/13, 08:13 AM

When we lived in AL we had a thermally controlled attic fan and at night I would close all the windows in the house except one in the living room and the one next to my bed. I'd put a box fan in the living room window facing out and it would pull relatively cooler (90 degree) night air across my bed. I slept fine that way for 2 summers.