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Old 02-02-2012, 09:09 AM
 
Location: Not Moving
970 posts, read 1,864,027 times
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Are you talking about the old attic fans?..........like they have up North? Never seemed to do much good, but it may depend on the type of house (the way it's built.)
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Old 02-02-2012, 09:26 AM
 
Location: Not Moving
970 posts, read 1,864,027 times
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Maybe I'm in the minority here since I grew up in Houston, but we have our windows up even when it is 85+ degrees outside...........sometimes with the fan (on the A/C) going, and definitely with the ceiling fans going.
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Old 02-02-2012, 09:56 AM
 
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My house, which was built in 1996, has a whole house fan. It is true that it has somewhat limited use, as it can't substitute for the air conditioner, but I do really love having it. On days that are a more moderate temperature, I can open some windows and get fresh air through the whole house. It has only happened a few times in the 9 months that we have lived here, but yes, it can clear the house very quickly if I burn something in the kitchen.
I don't think a whole house fan is a necessity, but I enjoy mine. If I were building a house, I would put one in.
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Old 02-02-2012, 10:20 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
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Quote:
Originally Posted by centralaustinite View Post
. Too often in Austin, we go straight to AC (even this week) instead of opening windows (or using a whole house fan) because of cedar pollen or mold spores or the fact that in the winter when it is warm it is often too humid.
I still have the heat on ...
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Old 02-02-2012, 10:34 AM
 
Location: central Austin
7,228 posts, read 16,025,446 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cBach View Post
I still have the heat on ...
No way! This week? We've had the windows open several times this week and the AC on a few times too. Might have had the heat on once. I can't remember and the weather changes too fast!
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Old 02-02-2012, 11:13 AM
 
Location: Avery Ranch, Austin, TX
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One of the things I don't care for in our otherwise very nice house is the lack of operable windows in the bathrooms(frosted glass for light but no ventilation) and the kitchen. Actually, the kitchen windows in the 'bay' will open but you need a really small person to crawl across the deep counter-top in order to open them.

There's no way to pull our nice fresh air into the master bath unless you 'drag' it through the bedroom. It would be nice to exhaust the whirlpool bath and shower steam by replacing it with fresh, springtime air in the evenings. All bets are off when summer arrives at the end of this month.

I grew up with a noisy, whole-house attic fan and it really did the trick in our 1500 sq ft house. Might take a bit more 'doing' to be effective in the current abode. What I would REALLY enjoy is a way to exhaust the garage air during the summer, replacing it (partially) with conditioned air from the house. I actually could put a small window fan in for that purpose, but I'm pretty sure the HOA would frown on window units on the front of the house. It would be nice to have some cooler air in there while working on 'garage' projects during the summer.
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Old 02-02-2012, 12:43 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
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A couple we know lives in an older house in 78704 which has a whole house fan in it. They say it works pretty well on moderately warm days, but they still need AC during the peak summer heat. It helps to have a lot of shade around the house so it pulls in cooler air near the ground.
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Old 02-02-2012, 12:59 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
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Quote:
Originally Posted by centralaustinite View Post
No way! This week? We've had the windows open several times this week and the AC on a few times too. Might have had the heat on once. I can't remember and the weather changes too fast!
Yep this week. I've had the heat on since November, I don't touch the pre-programmed thermostat. Granted, it didn't kick on yesterday in the day but it still kicks on each morning to get it up to 70.

I work from home and I'm a bit chilly right now and the temp is 70 in the house. I'm wondering if perhaps I have better insulation than you or perhaps your house is in a more sunlight exposed area? It only got up to 73 in the house yesterday and that was with an outside temp of 84.
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