Anybody Have A Whole House Fan?

[Nifty]

We used it for 3 of the days during a crazy hot spell in CA and it worked great. It is totally jerry-rigged in a sliding glass door (I may take some pics) and is only temporary for testing purposes.

From the performance I've seen I'm pretty convinced that I want to go with a ceiling mount fan that pulls the hot air out of the house and pushes the really really hot air out of the attic.

I just need to add more venting to the roof to allow that much volume of air to escape easily.

 

[Okiemommy]

lol on the sliding glass door. I'm glad it's working!
Are you keeping track of the savings on your energy bills by any chance? I would be interested in a percentage if you are keeping track.


I'm just guessing but I think for us the window fan would be the best way to go because we have a manufactured home...no attic...

 

[Nifty]

Well, since we don't have AC at all we won't be "saving" anything other than our sweat glands!

There are only about a dozen or so nights that are totally unbearable and at those times we use lots of box, ceiling and pedestal fans.

A whole house fan should be much better, easier and efficient and should also help keep things more cool during the day (since it cools everything down at night).

 

[Okiemommy]

Well, since we don't have AC at all we won't be "saving" anything other than our sweat glands! :wink

I musta missed that part LOL


Whew I would call A/C a definite must have here in Oklahoma on some days...we get stretches of days where the elderly pass away from the heat because it's so bad. The wind that Oklahoma is so famous for pretty much vacates for the summer, and on the rare occasion that it's windy during that heat, it's like a hot furnace blowing on you.

I live in CA on the Central Coast for a little while while DH was stationed there, and the climate was awesome.
We went to the mall the first week I was there, and wanted to go back to the car and cover up my makeup. My DH asked me what I was doing, and I said I'm covering up my makeup so that the sun doesn't melt it ^_^ He said honey we're not in Oklahoma anymore. Things don't melt in the car here.... He was pretty tickled about it.

 

[FarmerRob]

My folks had an attic fan in a place they used to live. It worked great as far as moving the air through and cooling things a bit. Mom's complaint, and the reason she has never had another one, is that it caused so much dust to be sucked in through the screen windows that it would settle on everything in the house.

 

[LizFM]

I also like that it is reversible... speaking of which: Anybody a master of aerodynamics? Everything being equal (i.e., other doors / windows being open) would a fan "pulling" air from outside and "pushing" it into the house (and out other windows) move the same volume in exactly the opposite path / direction as a fan "pulling" air from inside and "pushing" it outside? Brain teaser for sure!!

35 or so years ago, my uncle brought home an "industrial sized" (it was big) squirrel cage fan (looks different than a regular box fan) and stuck it in one of the windows of my grandparent's house to exhaust the hot air. At that time, they didn't have AC (they did get it when my grandmother started having heart trouble.

It was strong enough that the curtains on the other side of the house would pull away from the window from the breeze! Pulling hot air OUT of the house is a hundred times better than trying to pull it in. Even if it wasn't, pulling air out brings IN cool air from every open window/door.

I never put a fan blowing air in one window, without putting another fan blowing air out of another window. I would love a whole house fan.

 

[lupinfarm]

What the heck is a whole house fan?

We just use tower fans in the summer and crank open all the windows. We don't have AC in our house, the brick portion ain't so bad in the summer unless you're upstairs but the wood side and the extension just BAKE.

 

[Nifty]

Our fan was a life saver over the summer! It made all the difference on those nights after a SUPER hot day where there is cool air outside, but no breeze so the hot air just sits in your house.

These things work great at literally exchanging the hot air inside for the hot air outside.