[Scott R]

Our house had just an attic fan when we moved in, and we've used it on occasion. Works great to cool things off (and get some fresh air) on dry cool nights after a hot day. But more times than not, it doesn't seem to do the trick for us. If it's still hot and humid outside, you're just sucking that hot humid air inside. Also, we have a heavily wooded lot with lots of gnats and mosquitos, and I've seen it suck in some of those suckers, even with the screens in place. So, for me, it's nowhere near good enough compared to central air.

Regarding those ductless units...I was going through a pile of junk mail and local newspapers yesterday, and I saw a few ads by local energy companies touting ductless systems, so it may be that these are more mainstream now. I previously said that you might have a hard time finding companies that know anything about them, but it looks like that may no longer be the case. It may still not be the best solution for the OP, but I'd be curious to know more about the pros/cons and costs (including install) of these systems compared to central air.

[NewJeffCT]

when I was in Newington, I paid around $5,000 for a central air system for my old home - that was a 1,200 square foot ranch home that had no ductwork in it. So, that was installing the ductwork, doing the electrical work and also purchasing the entire unit.

I had quotes from several other contractors that were $8,000 to $12,000 or so for the same home. This was around 2002 or so, I think.

[FutureTown]

Originally Posted by Scott R

FutureTown, don't let us scare you away from looking. About how much *can* you afford to pay? I'm guessing that the traditional 2-piece (condenser unit + blower unit) will be out of your price range, because the units themselves aren't cheap (considering what they're made up of, they're probably way overpriced) and the installers are typically looking to source them themselves and mark them up significantly. Then you're dealing with the installers labor costs, possibly a separate electrician, etc.

But take a look into those ductless units. I just did a quick search, and I see a 24,000 BTU unit at Home Depot for about $1300. Someone can correct me, but from what I can tell by looking at them, it looks like it's basically like a traditional window/wall air conditioner that is much more powerful (higher BTU) but has been split into two parts, so that the noisiest part sits outside and the vent/fan takes up about half the height of a typical window/wall A/C unit. I'm not sure how handy you are, but you might even be able to do the install yourself. The main downside is that you've only got the one vent, but if you have an open floor plan, it could still be decent. The two bedrooms will suffer the most and won't be kept cool with their doors closed, but you might still be able to cool them down during the day if you leave the doors open. Or, you could supplement those two rooms with traditional window/wall A/C units (or additional small ductless units, but then you'll be paying money close to what a traditional 2-piece central air system would cost you).

Yet another approach would be to buy the biggest traditional window/wall air conditioner you can find for your living room. That would be your cheapest option. It will also be the loudest, but some of them are a lot quieter than they used to be, and I'd personally prefer to suffer through the added noise vs suffering through oppressive heat. Again, looking at Home Depot online, I see a couple of 18,000 BTU units for $500. You could then get separate small ones for the two bedrooms for $250 a piece.

Appreciate it, Scott! I did some thinking and discussing with the family and we realized that we're gonna ultimately save money for Central AC, since people have also said it increases resale value a lil' bit. What we're gonna do is focus on windows and upgrade them this or next Summer. We never realized how unefficient windows can make any cooling or heating. So, once we're done with that upgrade, I believe we're going to side with Central AC cause Summers like last year was absolutely murderous in my house even with the AC on. I have a window AC (6000 BTU) which cools my room perfectly. It's very energy efficient, too, but, it does have problems with our current window, so, you have to tweak it quite a bit. It's a big hassle. And we have a 12,000 BTU in the living room, however, it doesn't cool enough. It'll keep the living room nice, but, walk elsewhere in the house, and it's terrible. Especially the bedrooms (excluding mine) or bathrooms. I'd rather have something that doesn't take so much window real estate and look cleaner/modern. I don't mind paying 5,000 (That's what I'm feeling) for Central AC if it'll keep my house cool for most of the day and in the end, increase the house value over the decade or two. In my neighborhood, there are only 2, I believe, with central AC, so, it's not so common, either. I'm hoping it'll play for our favor. While I don't wish for it, I really feel like Summers are just getting worse (This year has been relatively tame...so far). I don't know how I survived last year, to be honest. My house was an oven. My room temperature was over 85 several days a week. Granted, sunlight hits directly from sunrise to sunset.

Appreciate the Attic Fan feedback. I'm hoping to buy one this Summer. Should do wonders in releasing all that hot air over the night. I'm used to city traffic middle of the night, so, I hardly doubt it'll annoy anyone in this household regarding noise. We're used to background noise like that.

[Scott R]

Originally Posted by FutureTown

Appreciate the Attic Fan feedback. I'm hoping to buy one this Summer. Should do wonders in releasing all that hot air over the night. I'm used to city traffic middle of the night, so, I hardly doubt it'll annoy anyone in this household regarding noise. We're used to background noise like that.

I could be wrong, but I don't think most people would leave their attic fan running all night long, anyway. I think the idea is that in the evening, the indoor temperature might be 80 degrees, and the outdoor temp might be 70, so you open up your windows, turn on the whole house fan, and it sucks the warmer air out through the attic, and the cool air is sucked through the windows and fills the house. That process might take less than 10 minutes, at which point you turn off the fan. At least, that's how I used ours. Running it all night long could be uncomfortable because the outdor air might be *too* cold, and it really sucks it in so you can feel the air moving. Plus, the fan itself is pretty loud.

Also, I used the term "attic fan" in a previous post, but I'm actually talking about a "whole house fan". I think an "attic fan" might just be a small fan that is cut into your roof (or an outside wall in your attic) and cools the attic. Those are small, cheap, and probably don't make any noticeable noise, but I'm pretty sure that they also aren't going to help much in cooling a hot house.

[Cambium]

My attic fan is on timer. I set it for 110°. When ever it reaches that it turns on. It's amazing how hot an attic gets even if its just upper 80s outside. I found melted candles one year so now there's nothing up there that can melt or combust.

I TOTALLY regret eliminating the whole house fan!!! If you want to save money and keep your house cooler without A/C, install one. It's good for structure/bones of the house.

[Lalalally]

Originally Posted by Scott R

Also, I used the term "attic fan" in a previous post, but I'm actually talking about a "whole house fan". I think an "attic fan" might just be a small fan that is cut into your roof (or an outside wall in your attic) and cools the attic. Those are small, cheap, and probably don't make any noticeable noise, but I'm pretty sure that they also aren't going to help much in cooling a hot house.

I was talking about a whole house fan too. I didn't know there was a difference between that and an attic fan - thought they were interchangeable. But it's a large fan that is mounted in my upstairs hallway (next to the pull down stairs to the attic). It is loud, but I do sometimes keep it running all night long super powerful too -- when we first moved in and before I had any experience with one, I turned it on without having enough windows open. The draft (or lack) was enough to blow out our pilot light on the boiler two stories down in the basement! You have to keep lots of windows open. It's great though, I love it.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Scott R

I could be wrong, but I don't think most people would leave their attic fan running all night long, anyway. I think the idea is that in the evening, the indoor temperature might be 80 degrees, and the outdoor temp might be 70, so you open up your windows, turn on the whole house fan, and it sucks the warmer air out through the attic, and the cool air is sucked through the windows and fills the house. That process might take less than 10 minutes, at which point you turn off the fan. At least, that's how I used ours. Running it all night long could be uncomfortable because the outdor air might be *too* cold, and it really sucks it in so you can feel the air moving. Plus, the fan itself is pretty loud.

Also, I used the term "attic fan" in a previous post, but I'm actually talking about a "whole house fan". I think an "attic fan" might just be a small fan that is cut into your roof (or an outside wall in your attic) and cools the attic. Those are small, cheap, and probably don't make any noticeable noise, but I'm pretty sure that they also aren't going to help much in cooling a hot house.

You are right, there is a difference. An attic fan is just a small fan used to just vent the attic. A whole house fan is one that will vent the entire house by sucking air from inside the living portion of the house into the attic. Still most people refer to a whole house fan as an attic fan because it is set in the ceiling between the living portion of the house and the attic. Both are good to have. Jay