Whole House Fans vs Solar Attic Fans

13 years ago

I live in the San Fernando Valley of LA in a two story house built in the late 30s.

Posts re: whole house fans are mainly from 2006 and I'm looking for advice re: current products on the market. Los Angeles DWP gives a rebate for this, but not Solar attic fans, btw. Which models are best in terms of quietness and operation? What is the impact of the whole house fan vs. the solar attic fan?

Thank you in advance

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Comments (3)

mike_kaiser_gw
13 years ago
An attic fan, as the name implies, is designed to cool the attic. Their primary advantage is keeping the attic cooler thereby extending the life of the shingles and they do keep the house itself a little cooler. They do need to be sized and positioned correctly for maximum effectiveness and depending on the size and configuration of your attic, you may need more than one fan. There are some that say they are a waste of money because they create only localized cooling (air takes the path of least resistance) and/or if the attic is vented properly, no additional cooling is necessary.

A whole house fan works best in climates or seasons where there are warm days and cool nights. They are placed in a central location (on the second floor if applicable). Basically you open the windows and flip on the fan, which pulls cool air in and pushes hot air into the attic. Again they need to be sized correctly and your attic needs to be vented properly to give the air some place to go. They can eliminate the need for air conditioning, which is why your utility is giving a rebate. Since you are moving a lot of air, they can be noisy.
robinhall120
4 years ago
We have a whole house fan that I'm pretty sure was put in our house when it was built in the 1980's. Here in Florida it's only cool enough outside to use it a few weeks out of the year but when I can use use it I love it. It creates a breeze throughout the house and I've watched the thermometer and have seen the house cool by 4 degrees within 20 minutes of turning it on. Our unit isn't any louder than the air conditioner. We're in the process of building a new home and I plan to install one in the new house but haven't looked into what's currently available. If anyone has any recommendation on a whole house fan (brand you like) please post it. Thanks!
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If you use a whole house fan, there is no point in having a sealed attic system. You need an old fashioned "open" attic system. You want the hot air to vent out through the gable ends. You have a grate in a hallway that opens and the (presumably) cooler air from outside the home is drawn in through the open windows through the home, through the grate, and exits through the attic vents. WHole house fans are NOT compatible with conjunctively using your AC system. And, as I mentioned, the exterior of the home must be cooler (and less humid) than the interior for the whole house fan to be a viable option. 85Â° is pretty hot for most people, and I presume you're in the South where the humidity is also very high. Southerners LOVE their AC for a reason and long ago abandoned their whole house fans except for about 15 days in the spring and fall. WHole house fans are like owning a convertable. It sounds like a good idea, and if you live in a place like San Francisco, it probably IS a good idea. But, for folks who live in most of the rest of the country, there just isn't enough ideal weather in the year to be able to fully utilize that top down motoring.
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We had a similar need, but only because I did not want the hassle or visibility of cutting into the ceiling to install a whole house fan. what I came up with after much searching has been a PERECT solution for us. It is a window mounted whole house fan. I did not have any thought that it would actually move air in the same quantity as the conventional whole house can. It is MARVELOUS! I am pasting the url for the site from which I ordered ours.It has been two years now and I would never be without it again. They install in any conventional window of reasonable size (see site instructions), and attach only by 4 little screws into the inside of the facing and do not show. They have switches that can be turned to either sucking or blowing so you can vary the pull either way. The window can shut down behind the fan for rain or winter. And it draws air in a major way. We have saved scads on electricity bu using it when the nights are cool enough to leave it on all night and then close up in the day. The AC will not come on for hours or even at all, of course depending on how cool it got and how hot it reaches in the day. We love VERY cool air so can tolerate it getting down to 62 or so at night to keep it from getting very hot the next day. That would all be determined by your own tastes.... They were out of stock when I ordered and so I had to wait a couple of weeks, but the company shipped promptly once they had them in stock. I am so glad we went that route! Check it out. Here is the url: http://www.rewci.com/20wholhouswi.html
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Since it require's someone with knowledge,this isn't the silver bullet you expected but the belt speed is set too high. Simple to adjust for one who understands,trouble waiting to happen if tinkered with.
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Mini-Split Warehouse
3 years ago
What is a Whole House Fan?

https://www.minisplitairconditioningsystem.org/

A whole house fan is an exhaust system that vents a home’s air into the attic, circulating air throughout the entire building. Essentially, it consists of a fan that is installed into a system of ducts or a vent and acts as the motor for the entire ventilation process.

It pulls the air out of a home’s living space and forces it into the attic by pulling in cooler, fresh air from the outside through open windows. If the home does not have an attic, the air will be forced outside. Once inside the attic, the air is forced outward through the vents and soffits. This system not only cools the house, it also creates better attic ventilation, which can have many benefits.

Solar Star Ventilation Fans:

• Pulls heat from your attic and structure of your home

• Provide a more comfortable interior

• Lower air conditioning energy bills

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Whole House Fans vs Solar Attic Fans

Comments (3)

mike_kaiser_gw

robinhall120

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