Whole House Fans - Do they work?
Glee 4
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
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HALLETT & Co.
4 years agoRelated Discussions
whole house fan in home without attic
Comments (7)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...See MoreWhole House Fan instead of AC
Comments (9)I have a recommendation for whole-house fans, and that is to go with the ones made by Triangle Engineering of Arkansas (made in the USA!). These things move more air than any other brand. As an example: the 36" belt-drive model sold at Lowes & Home Depot moves 6,900 CFM on its highest speed. The 36" one that Triangle makes moves 10,600 CFM. I just put one of these in last week and am so taken with it that I'm evangelizing for Triangle now. These things are much higher quality than the other brands too -- these are made with very heavy-gauge solid welded steel (as opposed to the thin, flimsy metal - often aluminum - that other brands use). They use a very solid motor made by Emerson, the best of the top three motor-making companies (the other two being Fasco and A.O. Smith). They come pre-framed on a wood frame for installation, AND they have sponge-rubber noise-dampening material between the fan and the frame, so they are much quieter than the other brands. Also, Triangle holds a patent on an automatic belt-tensioning system these things use, so you don't have to worry about getting the tension right when you install the fan (or in the years thereafter as the belt loosens up). Also, they come in more sizes than the other companies -- from 24" all the way up to 48" blade diameter (which moves a ridiculously whopping amount of air; no one else makes one that big). They're sold online at Southern Tool amongst other places that ship nationwide, so they're available wherever you live. Also, Triangle re-brands some of these as a private label for Dayton, which is the "store brand" of Grainger - so if you have a Grainger store near you (check your phone book or their website), you can buy one there. I will say this, though - Grainger/Dayton makes their own shutters, and those shutters are much better than the one Triangle makes. Triangle makes great fans, but crappy shutters. Luckily, they're sold separately -- so buy a Triangle fan and Dayton shutters; money can't buy better products. They also re-brand some for a company out in San Francisco called "Fanman" (a/k/a "Delta Breeze"). A word to the wise -- these fans move a lot of air, so make sure to install at least the recommended minimum amount of attic exhaust space (gable vents, soffit vents, roof vents, some combination thereof, whatever works for you) - if you don't have enough, the fan will operate at reduced capacity, and there will be a backpressure which will cause the shutters to rattle when the fan is in operation (any time you hear whole-house fan shutters rattling, you know there isn't enough exhaust space). Oh, and one other thing -- only buy a belt-drive whole-house fan, don't EVER buy a direct-drive model...the direct-drive models are at least five times louder, they sound like standing on an airport runway next to an old prop plane getting ready to take off. Several of the dedicated whole-house fan installing companies have chosen to use Triangle fans; that should tell you something. These companies want satisfied customers, so they use Triangle and only Triangle. Refer to http://www.trianglefans.com/wholehouse.html for more info Here is a link that might be useful: Triangle whole-house fans...See MoreIn-line vent fan as whole house fan?
Comments (10)I have a recommendation for whole-house fans, and that is to go with the ones made by Triangle Engineering of Arkansas (made in the USA!). These things move more air than any other brand. As an example: the 36" belt-drive model sold at Lowes & Home Depot moves 6,900 CFM on its highest speed. The 36" one that Triangle makes moves 10,600 CFM. I just put one of these in last week and am so taken with it that I'm evangelizing for Triangle now. These things are much higher quality than the other brands too -- these are made with very heavy-gauge solid welded steel (as opposed to the thin, flimsy metal - often aluminum - that other brands use). They use a very solid motor made by Emerson, the best of the top three motor-making companies (the other two being Fasco and A.O. Smith). They come pre-framed on a wood frame for installation, AND they have sponge-rubber noise-dampening material between the fan and the frame, so they are much quieter than the other brands. Also, Triangle holds a patent on an automatic belt-tensioning system these things use, so you don't have to worry about getting the tension right when you install the fan (or in the years thereafter as the belt loosens up). Also, they come in more sizes than the other companies -- from 24" all the way up to 48" blade diameter (which moves a ridiculously whopping amount of air; no one else makes one that big). They're sold online at Southern Tool amongst other places that ship nationwide, so they're available wherever you live. Also, Triangle re-brands some of these as a private label for Dayton, which is the "store brand" of Grainger - so if you have a Grainger store near you (check your phone book or their website), you can buy one there. I will say this, though - Grainger/Dayton makes their own shutters, and those shutters are much better than the one Triangle makes. Triangle makes great fans, but crappy shutters. Luckily, they're sold separately -- so buy a Triangle fan and Dayton shutters; money can't buy better products. They also re-brand some for a company out in San Francisco called "Fanman" (a/k/a "Delta Breeze"). A word to the wise -- these fans move a lot of air, so make sure to install at least the recommended minimum amount of attic exhaust space (gable vents, soffit vents, roof vents, some combination thereof, whatever works for you) - if you don't have enough, the fan will operate at reduced capacity, and there will be a backpressure which will cause the shutters to rattle when the fan is in operation (any time you hear whole-house fan shutters rattling, you know there isn't enough exhaust space). Oh, and one other thing -- only buy a belt-drive whole-house fan, don't EVER buy a direct-drive model...the direct-drive models are at least five times louder, they sound like standing on an airport runway next to an old prop plane getting ready to take off. Several of the dedicated whole-house fan installing companies have chosen to use Triangle fans; that should tell you something. These companies want satisfied customers, so they use Triangle and only Triangle. Refer to http://www.trianglefans.com/wholehouse.html for more info Here is a link that might be useful: Triangle whole-house fans...See MoreWhole House Fans vs Solar Attic Fans
Comments (3)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....See MoreGlee 4
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Glee 4Original Author