Whole House Fans

[MCarp71]

Had one growing up in Texas. Loved it as a kid. It would pull your hat right off your head when you walked underneath it. We called them attic fans!

[XDMan]

had one in the house I grew up in and have installed 2 or 3 in houses we have bought since being out on my own. They're great. At bed time, leave the bedroom windows open and close most or all the others in the house.

Only thing I would add to the other suggestions here is to put it on a thermostat (place close to the fan). That way if it gets really cool outside in the middle of the night it will shut off by itself instead of you having to get up & do it.

Leo

[CO Hugh]

Approximate cost to have one installed, particularly by Colorado Home Cooling.

[BigDee]

^^What he said.

[rondog]

Check out the website or call and ask. It's been a few years, I don't remember.

[mtik00]

We don't have AC; we only have the house fan.

It works amazingly well about 80% of the summer. Let you'd think, it has to be cool outside for it to work. This summer has been pretty brutal. For those days/weeks, we have a floor-standing AC unit (with a vent that goes to the window).

I put the fan in myself, but I hired a roofer to come put some extra vents in just to make sure I had enough outflow. It wasn't hard to do; I just had to get past that fear factor of cutting a gigantic hole in my ceiling

I have a wireless thermometer so I know when it's cooler outside than inside. That's when the fan goes on, and I don't turn it off until the morning (or we get too cold, or it rains).

If I had the money at the time, I would have popped for something a little fancier. They have units with a central fan that gets put inside your attic, with smaller vents/tubes that go to each room. I would have preferred that for what we use it for: cooling down the master bedroom. Here's one example: http://www.wholehousefan.com/PRODUCT...PERFAN---.html


The biggest downside is that you need to open the windows to the room(s) that you want to cool. I've gotten up a few nights this week when it started raining and water was coming in from the window.

The other thing is that it's loud. I don't mind it very much, but it can be a security concern. I wouldn't hear someone breaking a window in the basement if I was sleeping on the second floor while the fan was running.

All in all, the house fan was a great investment. It super-cheap to run and it works most of the time.

[Jer]

Considering one in the garage to suck some of the trapped hot air up and out whenever I'm out there working in the summer. Seems like a better choice since it starts moving air immediately whereas an A/C unit takes hours to start cooling a space that large enough to even notice.

[wyome]

Had one in wyoming...they didn't believe in A/C up there..FOOLS! It worked well tho
Always have a window cracked somewhere...especially with gas appliances in the house (water heater...)

[mtik00]

I woke up this morning and my house was 70 degrees. Try that with AC!

I should also mention that the better insulated you are, the better the system will work. It pays to have low-e windows and heavy curtains/drapes/etc that get closed during the day to keep the heat out.

My master bedroom would heat up to over 90 degrees by sunset because: a) the BR faces SW; b) it's over the garage; c) we don't have heavy window coverings. That's why we have the AC unit to supplement those super hot days/nights.

Considering one in the garage to suck some of the trapped hot air up and out...

I've been thinking the same thing.

[Jer]

I woke up this morning and my house was 70 degrees. Try that with AC!

You want me to try that? It would require me getting up and walking over to the thermostat and pushing the down button one click... don't know if I have that in me today.