whole house fan? - Non-Wakeboarding Discussion

(smitty1258) · (smitty1258) **Join Date: Jun 2009** 05-31-2011, 6:08 AM

anyone know anything about them?
Have been thinking about doing one for a few years now, our 1830s home has no central air, and our forced heat existing ductwork leaves something to be desired, and only 2 ducts come to the 2nd floor.

However we do live on the river, and we usually get cool air coming off the water and when the windows are open at night you can usually get a good breeze, but I think a whole house fan would be ideal for us. So I am trying to see what application is the best for us. Looking for some input from you guys. Here is what ive found so far.

Basic house fan
http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?...llow&cId=PDIO1

Mega fans lol
http://www.wholehousefan.com/
Specifically the http://www.wholehousefan.com/PRODUCTS/THE-SUPERFAN.html

And then amazon is littered with all sorts of options but these 2 designs are at the core of all the options.

(psudy) · (psudy) **Join Date: Dec 2003** 05-31-2011, 7:23 AM

I have one. Love it. In spring/early summer, I can leave the AC off a lot longer than most. If you have a fire place, make sure to shut the flu before you turn the thing on though. I forgot once and had a complete mess. Also, your attic will need to be well vented to get the best results.

(jarrod) · (jarrod) **Join Date: May 2003** 05-31-2011, 8:17 AM

I have one too. Works great now that we have added additional vents to the roof. As soon as the outside air temp is cooler than the air in the house, you can flip it on and flush the hot air out of the attic.

(ottog1979) · (ottog1979) **Join Date: Apr 2007** 05-31-2011, 9:40 AM

Me 3. Cheap, relatively easy to install yourself, cost effective and can cool the whole house down in 15 minutes. The only thing I didn't anticipate is that it's a FAN and is loud like one. I have two speeds both create a decent amount of noise as the fan sits in the rafters, right above the ceiling, in the center of the house.

(mc_x15) · (mc_x15) **Join Date: Jul 2008** 05-31-2011, 10:44 AM

I had a one growing up, About 6ft by 6ft or so in the attic. Thing worked great. watch your fingers on slamming doors when the wind sucks them shut. Lost a few fingernails that way. Lucky i didnt lose my finger.

(smitty1258) · (smitty1258) **Join Date: Jun 2009** 05-31-2011, 10:58 AM

Im assuming that everyone here just has the basic one like linked above?

(leaks) · (leaks) **Join Date: Oct 2005** 05-31-2011, 11:03 AM

I have one similar to the "Basic" fan you linked above. It works great. Like Evan, I had to add some additional air vents in the attic for the air to escape from. The fan had more velocity than the output capacity. One downfall, It sucks in all the dust from outside with the cooler air. Make sure your windows are at least cracked open BEFORE you turn on the fan. I made that mistake only once. It sucked all the fireplace ash into the air, and made a mess.Lol. Get one, you'll love it!

(ottog1979) · (ottog1979) **Join Date: Apr 2007** 05-31-2011, 11:04 AM

I have exactly the Lowes fan you linked but bought it at Home Depot. I think I paid something in the $200's but it was about 3 years ago.

(jarrod) · (jarrod) **Join Date: May 2003** 05-31-2011, 11:58 AM

I have this one

http://www.wholehousefan.com/PRODUCTS/HV-1000-DB.html

(puckinshat) · (puckinshat) **Join Date: Sep 2003** 05-31-2011, 5:42 PM

Anyone have one of these in a cold weather climate? I live in MN and this would be sweet for the summer but I have a concern with a draft coming from the attic during the winter. I think the one Evan installed would be the way to counter that.

(psudy) · (psudy) **Join Date: Dec 2003** 06-01-2011, 8:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by puckinshat

Anyone have one of these in a cold weather climate? I live in MN and this would be sweet for the summer but I have a concern with a draft coming from the attic during the winter. I think the one Evan installed would be the way to counter that.

I live in KS, so I am in cold weather climate. I don't notice a draft. They have vents that automatically open and shut by the force of the air/gravity.Mines in a hallway, so I don't notice it if it is. If it is too drafty for you, you could always go into the atic and put a blanket over it in the winter.

(tings00) · (tings00) **Join Date: Aug 2005** 06-02-2011, 8:56 AM

I really like this idea. Does anyone know if this would be eligible for any energy tax credits?

(buffalow) · (buffalow) **Join Date: Apr 2002** 06-01-2011, 6:52 AM

I am an AC contractor and had one in every house I own. My current set up Is for a large house. I have one large 40" one from home depot and than I have the high tech version (like the HV100 above) with the twin quiet fans and electric dampers.I would recommend the large propeller style over any of the others. We open the downstairs window, our bedroom window and run that fan for like 1-2 hours and it cools the house right down. Like yesterday the house was 76 inside and 68-70 outside. Ran the fan for about 1 hour and got the whole house down to 68. Than as the outside temp drops, so does the house. Another key thing is that it clears the heat out of the attic. The big fans work cheaply and very effectively. The high end fans work well, quieter, but take much longer. It is very much a easy project for a handyman.

(buffalow) · (buffalow) **Join Date: Apr 2002** 06-01-2011, 7:04 AM

I am an AC contractor and have had one in every house I have owned. I highly recommend it. I have a large house and have a 40" propeller style and the HV (See above) style as well. We much prefer the propeller style. The HV style is very quiet, works well, but does take much longer. We open the downstairs window and the master bed window for about 1-2 hour each night and cools the house right down. Like last night, the house was 76 inside, 68-70 outside. Ran it for about an hour and cooled the house down. Than as the outside cools down, so does the house. The big thing that often goes unspoken is that it cools your attic. It forces out all the heat in the attic so that when you turn the fan off the heat does not radiate back into the house. Pretty easy to install for the average DIY. Get to it!

(jarrod) · (jarrod) **Join Date: May 2003** 06-01-2011, 7:30 AM

I'm Jarrod, but yes my fan is insulated. :-)

(dave27) · (dave27) **Join Date: May 2005** 06-02-2011, 1:31 PM

Im a big fan too. I have had one for the last 30 years. LOL

(buffalow) · (buffalow) **Join Date: Apr 2002** 06-03-2011, 9:08 AM

In our area there was a $75.00 tax credit.

(tings00) · (tings00) **Join Date: Aug 2005** 06-03-2011, 12:25 PM

jarrod,

I just read some reviews on the one you had, the HV 1000 DB because I really liked it. Especially because it seals itself when off, and I live in a colder climate. The reviews made it out to be very noisy and didnt pull much air. Whats your experience like. I thought it might be worth the extra money then the $300 types but thereviews had me worried specifically not pulling that much air and taking a long time to cool down the house.

(mattgettel) · (mattgettel) **Join Date: Jan 2009** 06-03-2011, 12:33 PM

We have one and we love it. The only down side we see is that with a gravel driveway it doesn't take long to coat everything with the ole chalk film. The only other issue we have had was the previous owner blew insulation in the attic. When we ran the fan it blew all the insulation into the corners. Not a big deal but kind of a hassle.

(tings00) · (tings00) **Join Date: Aug 2005** 06-10-2011, 1:27 PM

thanks again for the project idea. I am installing the one from Lowes tomorrow

http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?...llow&cId=PDIO1.

I actually got them to price match this one: http://jetfanusa.com/pages/AVStd30.html