Belt-driven, variable speed whole house fan?
Doug
3 years ago
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wdccruise
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoDoug
3 years agoRelated Discussions
xl 15 duel fuel with variable speed 95%
Comments (3)IMO, I am in SE Virginia, on the coast - record highs this year, didn't even get a Spring. High humidity is the norm around here. I have been given no mdl #'s or manuals yet. That's all I have... On my list of things to bring up with the AC man... He has been working so hard on trying to keep everyone cool, I was just grateful to get my AC up and running again. The complete 15 SEER unit and 95% Gas furnace were replaced, and I opted for the Dual Fual for the Spring and Fall. Over $10.25 grand, but hoping it will pay of with lowered monthly bills as well as keeping the house cooler and better for the environment. It will qualify for the TAX REBATE. The tonnage was increased from 3 to 3.5. The compressor is huge compared to the old one which was installed in the yard when the house was new. (I have all the manuals and installation instructions for that one). Because of the necessary upgrade with the wiring, he could not access inside the wall to the old location of the thermostat. He wired the old one upstairs, directly above, and is returning to install the new thermostat necessary for the Dual Fuel, on the wall. The old one is dangling at the moment. you have adequate returns for both upstairs and downstairs? Do you mean the air intake? The filters are 16x20 downstairs and 20x20 upstairs. I will check the run times. When I checked the drainage just now, it was a steady dribble, so maybe it has settled in. The condenser was and is cycling but it is all so much quieter than the old one. I have the fan running continually as I did with the old one to keep the air flowing. Set at 78 upstairs, downstairs barometer/thermometer registering 75. It certainly feels good coming in from outside where temps are "94 and feels like 106" with 54% humidity. I will get a digital for other areas of the house as suggested. Still concerned that the intake sounds like it is laboring....See Morevariable speed or multi air handler?
Comments (10)gary.....thanks for the info...parts replacement is definitley something to consider....i guess i just want to make sure that we are getting what we are paying for....in the contract, it only says 4 ton trane heat pump, no model number and nothing about the air handler....i now realize that there are several models to choose from.....i ask the contractor today which heat pump (model #) and he said XR13....we are paying $16,500 which includes a heat pump for the UL, adding air condition to the main level and all new duct work on both levels...we had 4 bids and all were very close....but i am not sure which model #'s the other bids were for.....the XR13 has not been delivered to the job yet....i am thinking about asking for the XL14i......not sure what the difference in price is or what the contractor will say.....thanks again!...See MoreWHole house fan
Comments (41)Thanks to "fasola-shapenote" posting above, - I totally took his advice. My issues were that my wife was against the idea of a whole house fan being installed in our new house, so based on my experience with my old houses whole house belt-driven fan (still) being too noisy, I went with the biggest fan I needed (42" Triangle Fan, and the Dayton shutters) to keep it as quiet as possible. After all, the bigger the quieter. This house is 4,100 sq. feet, - including the basement. So I took about 2/3 of that to conclude that I had 2,700 sq. ft. to evacuate. Considering the real estate in the attic, and the floor lay-out for the upper floor, I decided to install the fan in the main bathroom. Knowing I had to cut a joist, then at least I would have walls close by to support the Âbroken joist. I had already installed pull-down steps into the attic and flooring which limited me to where I could put the fan. I gave up on the idea of installing 2 or 3 24 inch fans. That could have been installed in another closet ceiling without cutting joists. But the noise would have been intolerable. And my wife didnÂt want the eye-sore of the shutters, even though they look fine to me. So I get this Triangle fan delivered off an 18-wheeler near my house. ItÂs shipping weight is 91 lbs, and I had to disconnect my attic steps just to get the thing in the attic. An inch to spare on all sides. I removed the 20 lb. Emerson motor from the fan, and with the help of another family member, used a rope and hook over my ceiling hole to lower the 70 lb fan into place. No small task for the faint-of-heart. But it went really well. For my roof joists, I had vertical center joists going up to the center of the house, and 30 degree joists jutting out in both directions. While the 42 inch shutters were flush with the ceiling, - the 46 inch width fan was raised 22 inches from that. I Âboxed in those 22 inches with ¼ plywood, and tele-scoped to the 46 inch opening for the fan. The 30 degree joists caught the weight of the 90+ lb. fan about 2 feet out. I bought a 60 minute timer switch and the Triangle fan came with itÂs Hi-lo-off switch. The motor is easier to wire when itÂs not attached to the fan. So with the work complete, the fan runs about as quiet as a dryer with no clothes on low. And still itÂs not annoying if I run it on high. I guess the 2 feet up helps. It was a labor-of-love which took me about 4 days to complete. IÂd say about 24 hours hands on. I was freaked about getting all the dimensions correct, - and I knew the joists wouldnÂt be "perfect". Also the drywall had some nail-pops afterwards, put that can be expected after the stresses of cutting it. All-in-all, IÂll be burning about 9 cents an hour vs. close to $2 an hour with my 2-tier air conditioning system(s). I figure itÂll take less than 3 years to re-coup my $700 + investement....See MoreCan you put a rheostat on a whole house fan?
Comments (9)This type of motor cannot be speed-controled with a rheostat. You would be much better off to get a smaller fan installed. Perhaps you can sell this one on e-bay. Even with the current fan, the noise level might improve with improved vibration resistant mounting for the fan and motor (it may not be isolated from one of the houses framing members), better ventilation from the attic to the outside (the air has to go somewhere), and more open windows (the air has to come from somewhere). You might also look into getting a larger pulley for the fan and/or a smaller one for the motor....See Moremike_home
3 years agoDoug
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