Whole House Fan

[koobs84]

I've been looking for ways to reduce some of the power usage around my house. The A/C unit sucks the most energy during the summertime. The cost of solar still doesn't make it cost effective for me yet in my area.

Looking into whole house fans as an alternative to using the a/c all day long. I understand they are to be turned on when the temp outside is lower than inside. Also considering having an attic fan installed to reduce the temp during the daytime.

I found this company during my search https://quietcoolsystems.com

I don't know much about these so just wondering if anyone has any experience with these units. I remember them being loud when I was younger but wondering if technology is better nowadays.

 

[Punkur67]

I have installed a few. The quiet cool ones are pretty quiet and the way to go. They are nowhere near as loud as the old belt driven ones that sound like a prop plane inside your house.

 

[HiDesertELR]

^^^ this

 

[Familydude]

Just installed a QuietCool attic fan. Works great. Brings the attic temp down nicely and helps the AC ductwork to run cooler and more efficiently. Comes on automatically (high and low speeds) at temps I set with the app. Easy operation with WiFi. Looking at a QuietCool whole house fan as well. Several friends have them and are very pleased. Not looking forward to more time in my attic however...

 

[BullGear]

My sister had one some time ago. It pulled in all kinds of dust and dirt. If you live in the city where's there not too much dust and dirt being kicked up outside, maybe. But living in the country, she found the juice wasn't worth the squeeze.

 

[E. Bryant]

I have installed a few. The quiet cool ones are pretty quiet and the way to go. They are nowhere near as loud as the old belt driven ones that sound like a prop plane inside your house.

Hey now, I like the prop-plane sound! Very soothing at night.

I think we covered this topic in the Pit a few months ago, but to recap: whole-house fans are awesome. It's refreshing to kick on the fan after the sun goes down and pull in a boatload of cool nighttime air. We lived in our current place for the first 15 years without AC, and I'd say that there were only 5-10 nights/year that were uncomfortable (keep in mind that we're talking about western MI, which is fairly mild).

Just make sure you have good window screens, or else you'll fill your house with about 6000 CFM worth of insects

 

[E. Bryant]

My sister had one some time ago. It pulled in all kinds of dust and dirt. If you live in the city where's there not too much dust and dirt being kicked up outside, maybe. But living in the country, she found the juice wasn't worth the squeeze.

In rural areas, it's not so much dust and dirt as it is having the fan running in the early morning while the farmer across the street sprays his field with pig shit Nothing in the house passes the white-glove test after that happens.

 

[Familydude]

My sister had one some time ago. It pulled in all kinds of dust and dirt. If you live in the city where's there not too much dust and dirt being kicked up outside, maybe. But living in the country, she found the juice wasn't worth the squeeze.

Hey now, I like the prop-plane sound! Very soothing at night.

I think we covered this topic in the Pit a few months ago, but to recap: whole-house fans are awesome. It's refreshing to kick on the fan after the sun goes down and pull in a boatload of cool nighttime air. We lived in our current place for the first 15 years without AC, and I'd say that there were only 5-10 nights/year that were uncomfortable (keep in mind that we're talking about western MI, which is fairly mild).

Just make sure you have good window screens, or else you'll fill your house with about 6000 CFM worth of insects

Gentlemen, these are things I had not considered. I’m in a rural area. Guess I’d better give my installation further thought.

 

[acudaowner]

we are using those cheap Walmart tower fans cheap cost wise and they move a lot of air + have a cheap (made in china ) air filter to them at 50.00 each x's 6 we did not run the ac all that much this year . previously we had 4 Dyson Pure Cool Link TP02 Tower Fan & Air Purifier I am sure the purifier worked better but the fan felt anemic like a kid with a paper plate weak and at 5x's the cost of the cheap fans I was not a fan of them . We had at one point thought about ceiling fans think that would have been the next move had the cheap fans not worked well enough . good luck finding out what ever idea works for you .

 

[koobs84]

Thanks everyone. I’m definitely leaning towards getting the whole house fan. I can see it helping with keeping the ac from working too much.

Have ceiling fans but they are cheap ass ones that came with the house when it was built. They work but definitely not the best. The living room and dining area are large open spaces so I may replace the fans with longer blades. Should be able to pull more air.

Noticed today some of the weatherstripping around the doors look pretty worn so probably gonna replace these soon. That should help to keep any draft out.

 

[koobs84]

Just installed a QuietCool attic fan. Works great. Brings the attic temp down nicely and helps the AC ductwork to run cooler and more efficiently. Comes on automatically (high and low speeds) at temps I set with the app. Easy operation with WiFi. Looking at a QuietCool whole house fan as well. Several friends have them and are very pleased. Not looking forward to more time in my attic however...

How loud is it inside the living space?

 

[LawnMM]

We have one, used it to put off purchasing a new AC and furnace for a year.

The whole house fan, IMO is really a Spring/Fall appliance. As mentioned, it has to be cooler outside than inside to be useful or you're just pulling hot air into the living space.

For that reason, it's kinda useless in the hot summer months when the temps are warm/hot even over night.

It's not loud or disturbingly loud at all. It works fantastic when the temperature drops below say 70F. If it gets to 68F you can turn it on for 2hrs and the whole house will cool right off.

If it's dog days of summer (was 78F at like 1am last night) it's not going to help. You're running AC or you're hot

 

[HeavyAssault]

Last I saw a guy put solar on his house in CA he was basically paying $0 per month on a yearly average. Too bad he paid for it all investing $25k up front in solar. The biggest plus was he now has a whole home solar generator that as long as he has sunlight his Powerwall recharges. Made me do the math several times to see if it was worth it for my next home.

I think you really need to double check the math, the solar systems, the battery packs ( Powerwall) to see where the math ends out.

 

[Carlos Danger]

Watch yout humidity levels

 

[koobs84]

Last I saw a guy put solar on his house in CA he was basically paying $0 per month on a yearly average. Too bad he paid for it all investing $25k up front in solar. The biggest plus was he now has a whole home solar generator that as long as he has sunlight his Powerwall recharges. Made me do the math several times to see if it was worth it for my next home.

I think you really need to double check the math, the solar systems, the battery packs ( Powerwall) to see where the math ends out.

Checked with several companies. My average bill is below the cost of the monthly loan for the setups. July, August, and Sept. are the most energy consuming months for me due to the ac usage. The energy company is already looking to raise rates again and have plans to bury power lines due to all the fires they are causing, which would mean even more rate increases. So maybe in the next few years I will look into solar again.

I could honestly live without the ac but the family needs it. Luckily for me they are curled up in blankets by the time the inside temp is around 78 degrees so I don't have to run it too low. Thats why I think the whole house fan will be my best option for the next few years. Sounds like from everyones experience the newer models are much better and worth it.

 

[K470]

I've been looking for ways to reduce some of the power usage around my house. The A/C unit sucks the most energy during the summertime. The cost of solar still doesn't make it cost effective for me yet in my area.

Looking into whole house fans as an alternative to using the a/c all day long. I understand they are to be turned on when the temp outside is lower than inside. Also considering having an attic fan installed to reduce the temp during the daytime.

I found this company during my search https://quietcoolsystems.com

I don't know much about these so just wondering if anyone has any experience with these units. I remember them being loud when I was younger but wondering if technology is better nowadays.

I installed an temperature controlled exhaust fan and added an extra layer of insulation in the attic. I noticed a difference in how often the AC would run. I didn't do a cost comparison to see how much energy it saved but I did notice a difference in the cooling of the house. By the way I did these upgrades on the late fall early winter. It was much more better than being up there during this time of the year.

 

[hlee]

Must be nice living where the summer night time lows are lower than indoor temps. We're lucky to hit high 70s for overnight lows. And 90% humidity.

 

[BadDogPSD]

Here in the high desert, we see daytime highs in the 90's-low100's, but typically cool off to the high 50's-mid 60's in the summer. This summer has been hotter (and smokier ) than normal.
It's also a very dry & dusty climate, so while I like the idea of an whole house fan, I'm not sure it'd be worth it. Attic fans might help in our situation though.

 

[krw]

Well in SW Ark right now it is HOT an HUMID!! I aint gonna bitch about my AC bill

 

[Major Wader]

I grew up in a house with an attic/"whole house" fan.

You couldn't pay me to run one of those fuckers now. Miserable hot in the daytime, pulls in bugs, rain, dust, and whatever else at night.

I work my ass off to pay for A/C so I don't have to do that. I would switch to cheap whiskey and sell a few rifles before I would run one again.

 

[Freebore221]

I have had a quiet cool whole house fan for about 4 years now. It is about as loud as a running dishwasher, no problem sleeping with it running. Just watch the temperature outside, when it gets to within a few degrees of the inside temp, open a few windows a couple of inches each. The fan will pull the cooler air from outside and blow all the hot air out of your attic. In my opinion it is worth it's weight in gold. FWIW I live in the high desert and the overnight temp is generally much cooler than the daytime high.

 

[supercorndogs]

In rural areas, it's not so much dust and dirt as it is having the fan running in the early morning while the farmer across the street sprays his field with pig shit Nothing in the house passes the white-glove test after that happens.

We use a swamp cooler with no water for the same purpose. We still put pads in it so bugs can't crawl through or get sucked in. The dog was sprayed by a skunk beside it last week about 1 am. Wake up.

The skunk must have snuck up on him while he was sleeping. He is pretty savvy about not getting sprayed after getting grazed once.

 

[hlee]

^^^ All y’all are making me even gladder that I have central a/c...

 

[Familydude]

How loud is it inside the living space?

Not bad at all. Different models offer different levels of quiet. I replaced one that sounded like a mini-bike at full throttle. This one cost a dollar or two more but well worth it.

 

[A&8's]

I installed a 30" in my house. They're OK when the humidity is low, which is about a 1/2 a day a year here. lol They are nice in the spring and fall, though. The key is to open one window on each end of the house in the eve and kick the fan on. Then, close the house up during the day. At least in my area of the US.

Noise. Eh! When I kick mine on high, I bump the TV up from 10 to 12.

There also nice when you forget the pizza in the oven and it sets the smoke alarm off.

 

[tomcatmv]

OP, are you looking for an attic ventilation fan or a whole house fan? They are two different animals. An attic fan only exhausts the attic space with incoming air via soffit vents or other roof caps. A whole house fan is to pull air through your living space and is often a "heat exchange" device.
You can PM me if you wish. I'm a retired HVAC engineer/contractor and also was an advisor on a couple of code committees.

 

[Familydude]

Sounds like he’s looking for whole house and has done some research. Some pics anyway:

Attic:

Whole House:

 

[brianf]

stop buying coffee and bring your lunch from home

there is no substitute for AC

if costs are a issue buy a multi head split unit, super efficient and quiet

2-4 ton unit with 3-4 heads will do wonders, they can also create heat in the cooler months

in my vacation home i have the split heads set on 55 so if the oil burner dies i wont have busted pipes to deal with

i happen to love a cold house...wife and kids not so much but i pay the bills lol

thought i had a attic fan but oniy had several roof top vents

bought a cheap attic fan and stuffed it behind one of the vents and the attic dropped 25 degrees

just that alone and the AC was cycling less often...surprised me

 

[Familydude]

Where I live, it gets cool at night and in early mornings with low humidity. The wife and I actually prefer the fresh air from outdoors. Seems to help us sleep better. We have central AC and solar, so cost isn’t an issue. The option to use either is what most of the people I know and live around is what’s attractive.

 

[DangerStove]

I bought a quiet cool 5 years ago for $850 and installed it myself. My summer month electical bills are less than half of what they were pre whole house fan.

If dust/dirt is an issue you can always run the fan system to your main duct system hooked up to an electric damper to open close when in use and take advantage of the filter.

 

[DangerStove]

dupe

 

[GrantB]

Brings back memories of waking up in the morning in a wet bed. If your in a high humidity area you will have everything in your house wet with dew if you run it after the temperature drops below the dew point. An attic fan is all we had for cooling when I was a kid. Kind of weird , us progressing from fan to ac then regress back to the old ways. Isn’t this what aoc wanted after all.

 

[ggmanning]

My sister had one some time ago. It pulled in all kinds of dust and dirt. If you live in the city where's there not too much dust and dirt being kicked up outside, maybe. But living in the country, she found the juice wasn't worth the squeeze.

We had an all house fan when I was growing up before most people A/C. It was on of the loud ones noted above. It worked great at airflow but it pulled all kinds of dust and even gnats through the screens. I would agree with the above.

 

[W54/XM-388]

Something you could consider, is you could get your AC unit setup with an outside air draw so that when the temperature hits your low enough target, it opens up the intake (which still goes through an air filter) and pulls in outside air.

If you really wanted to be fun, you could custom design it so it was big enough to do 100% outside air and the AC system would go to fan / blower mode only and not run the compressor if the temps / humidity was right.

You Might even be able to do a bit of creative mod work and manually setup that system for your existing AC with a manual switch to shunt between outside air and inside air & then just turn your AC to blower / fan mode only.

 

[DangerStove]

If you run it this way you must make a bypass so the air doesn't flow through the indoor coil, at least in CA, that makes for adding humidity to the house.