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I recently bought a house in Powell, Oh (suburb of Columbus). I am new to the area. It is a two story with finished basement. It seems like the main level and the basement are cooler than the top floor. I know that heat rises.
I have never had an attic fan, but a friend of mine did. When he turned it on, I think he cracked a window, it felt really good in the house. This is something that I am really wanting to get.
I have done research online, and it seems like people like to use these a lot. The prices seem to be around $300 for the fan. I am fairly handy, but I don't want to install it myself.
Can anyone give me any tips? Make a brand recommendation? Who should I get to install it?
Here in the ATL they are not very practical- good for about 2-3wks in the fall. Too much pollen in the spring, too much humidity late spring and summer.
In OH, I'm sure that's a different story. But, first things first. Need to get a handle on the current condition of the house's insulation, HVACsystem, and your life style. Understanding, modifying, or upgrading these may result in NOT NEEDING a whole house fan.
So, what's needed-
Some framing modifications, an electrical source, and adequate attic/roof ventilation. Best person to install- HVAC contractor. But a handyman type person could probably handle it.
The biggest regret I've always heard about whole house fans is about winter weather. They don't seal well and have no insulation. Which means you have to seal them with plastic and tape on the conditioned side (your ceiling) and cover them in the attic with a polystyrene box that's covered with fiberglass batt insulation. Otherwise, all that heated air is just going to the attic.
Here in the ATL they are not very practical- good for about 2-3wks in the fall. Too much pollen in the spring, too much humidity late spring and summer.
In OH, I'm sure that's a different story. But, first things first. Need to get a handle on the current condition of the house's insulation, HVACsystem, and your life style. Understanding, modifying, or upgrading these may result in NOT NEEDING a whole house fan.
So, what's needed-
Some framing modifications, an electrical source, and adequate attic/roof ventilation. Best person to install- HVAC contractor. But a handyman type person could probably handle it.
Thanks. Yeah I just moved here from Huntsville, Al so I am used to the pollen and humidity
But, first things first. Need to get a handle on the current condition of the house's insulation, HVACsystem, and your life style. Understanding, modifying, or upgrading these may result in NOT NEEDING a whole house fan.
+1 to this.
I was going down the path of getting a whole house fan and installing it, but took this advice first. My insulation was very poor, and the hosue had some areas where attic air could get back into the conditioned space. I sealed things up, added blown-in insulation, and now I don't feel the whole house fan would be beneficial at all. There's always going to be a few degree difference between the upstairs and down stairs.. it's just the nature of the beast here.
My L-shaped house here in Florida has two whole-house fans mounted in the attic. One is at each end of the house and they have the automatic opening/closing shutters mounted beneath in the ceiling. We're in the midst of having the interior of the house painted and they were great for getting the paint and related odors out. Just opening a few windows or the sliding doors to my screened lani and kicking those on will evacuate the house really quickly.
During the cooler months we'd kick them on from time to time to get some fresh air into the house, but we don't use them a whole lot. I don't think I'd have something like this installed myself. but, they were already here when we bought the house.
I live in the desert in So Calif where it's extremely dry and hot. Early morning I turn it on for an hour or so and it rasies the relative humidity 10 or 12 %, and lowers the temp 10 or 15 degrees. The best part, it lowers the attic temp from 160 plus down to 95, which means it takes until late afternoon for the house to get warm enough to need the AC, if at all. I havent used the AC at all so far this year, and it's been over 100 a few times.
The conditions here are ideal for a whole house fan, but they don't work as well depending on where you live and the humidity in your area. My humidity meter doesn't go below 16, and that is where it usually stays before I got the whole house fan. Raising the rh from 16 up into the 30 range makes a huge difference. Many areas of the country require a dehumidifier, this area needs humidifiers..
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