A whole-house fan can help keep a house and its residents cool during spring, summer, and fall. On mild days, a homeowner can save energy by cooling their house with a whole-house fan instead of using central air conditioning.
Do not run your whole house fan during the day unless the temperature outside is cooler than the house is inside, though you may want to run the fan during the day to push air out of the attic. To do so, direct airflow from either the basement or the shady side of the home.
The cover will prevent some, but not all of the air from entering or exiting the home through the whole house fan. You'll have to remove the cover to operate the fan and then re-install the cover after each use. Not ideal, but it's better than allowing for the uncontrolled movement of air through your attic.
Yes it is a good idea to run the ceiling fan with AC on. It will ensure that the cold air circulates quickly in the room and help bring the temperature down quickly. In addition, you might not need to run AC in full blast and low temperature.
Only use your fan when the outdoor air is cooler than your indoor air. Make sure your A/C is off when you run the fan to avoid wasting energy. We recommend running the whole house fan all night. The goal is to cool your entire house down, not just the air.
Whole house fans which are large enough to create a breeze through the house can sometimes produce unintended effects such as noise, heat loss, and house depressurization. This can be improved with more attic vents and window area to replace the exhausted air. You must open windows.
For best results, run your whole house fan for at least 10 minutes first thing in the morning to bring a cool breeze through the house and into the attic. This will expel any hot stale air buildup from the night before. Then, close windows, doors and the blinds on the sunny side of your home.
ECONOMICS O F OPERATION
A large 18,000 Btu/h window unit air conditioner with an energy efficiency ratio (EER) of 8.8 costs more than 17¢ to operate for one hour. By contrast, a whole house fan has a motor in the 1/4 to 1/2 hp range, uses 120 to 600 watts, and costs around 1¢ to 5¢ per hour of use.
The cooling effect of whole house fans comes from the air circulation they generate, rather than from any cooling or heating components. They are most effective when outdoor temperatures are lower than indoor temperatures, as they quickly draw in the cooler outdoor air while exhausting warmer indoor air.
If we assume an average of 10 hours on and 14 hours off per day, energy costs are reduced by 60% to about $18 per month or $215 per year. Bottom line – If you run the fan in AUTO mode, you'll save about $300 per year.
Whole-House Fans
They also have disadvantages. If your climate is humid, the air you draw in will be humid as well, and might not be as cool as hoped for. A whole-house fans requires a large hole in the ceiling that can be difficult to air seal in the winter, causing heated air to leak into the attic.
Whole house fans can be extremely effective for improving air quality and comfort in a home. Designed to create better ventilation, cooling and air circulation, these units can be both energy-efficient and extremely effective.
Cooling the core of your home
Homes cooled with whole house fans do not reheat as rapidly. Thermal mass cooling is the key principle to why whole house fans work so well in southern Colorado climates, because the outside temperatures are cool enough to run whole house fans often 10 to 12 hours a night.
When running a whole house fan if you don't open windows it makes a loud suction noise to make it very obvious that there aren't windows opened. Make sure to follow these important tips safety tips when using a whole house fan: Make sure you have the 2-4 windows open 4-8 inches.
Aging or Malfunctioning Blower Motor
As a blower motor ages, it may encounter mechanical issues or experience wear and tear, causing increased noise levels. bearings that are worn-out, bent fan blades, or an imbalanced motor can contribute to a noisy blower.
For cooling purposes during the warmer months of the year, Whole house fans are designed to run whenever it is cooler outside than inside your home. This is oftentimes during the early morning and nighttime hours. Because of this, most customers run their Whole house fan all night long on a timer.
Whole-house fans cost significantly less to run than a window AC unit. You'll pay an average of $0.01 and $0.05 per hour to run a whole-house fan compared to $0.06 to $0.88 per hour for the cost to run a window AC, depending on its size and the size of your home.
The best time to run a whole house fan is during periods when the outside air is cooler than the inside air, typically in the evening, at night or early morning. This is most common in climates where the temperature drops significantly after sunset.
Definitions of whole house fan vs. attic fan vary by region, causing some confusion. In a nutshell, whole house fans are designed to run after sundown, using cool night air to ventilate and cool your entire living space. Attic fans are designed to run on hot sunny days to clear super-heated air from your attic.
A: Technically, yes, but we do not recommend this. In order for the home ventilation system to work correctly, windows need to be open. If your whole house fan turns on automatically and the windows are not open, it can pull air from your fireplace causing ash and soot to stain your furniture and carpet.
How Long Will It Take To Cool My Home And How Long Should I Keep The Fan On? Part 2 On average you should run the fan for 4-5 hours to ensure the attic is cooled. The attic is what keeps the home hot. We always recommend the use of a timer.
The whole house fan motor belt may be loose or broken, in which case it will need replacement. The fan operates for a while and then stops. The internal thermal sensor may be automatically switching your unit off due to malfunction, inadequate attic ventilation, or a faulty motor bearing or fan shaft bearing.