Are whole house fans economicly worth it?

Question

Are whole house fans worth it?

Answer 1

I think both 1 and 2 offer valid suggestions. In one respect it depends on your intent, and any comfort zone you can tolerate.

   Assume for the moment that a whole house fan, as any other, is designed to move air. They may even, in that sense offer some level of COOLING to a person, but they are not intended to cool rooms or houses.

   In that context, assume your comfort zone is 76 degrees, indoors. If you are using a fan to circulate air, most especially drawing it in from outdoors, moving it through the house, to exit somewhere at some opposite end. It can only deliver what air exists in the exterior temp. Indoors, with no exterior ventilation/venting intended, it can only move the air as it exists in the house, at whatever temperature the interior is experiencing.

  Certainly it also depends on how well the house is insulated, what compas direction it faces, in the placement of incoming and exiting flows, keeping drapes or blinds closed to the Sun, etc.

   In some regard FANS fool us, and certainly moving air FEELS different than static air, offering an illusion, mostly in front of a fan, that we feel COOLER.

Just my to "sense"

Answer 2

Can you be more specific?  Are you talking about a fan for each room?  Or an attic fan?  And what is the climate like where you live?

Generally speaking, attic fans are not worth it.  An attic ridge vent is what replaced attic fans years ago and they work on the same convection principal without the motor.  It's such a small motor that the benefit of it's use is minimal for the amount of money and work to install it.

Fans for each room are great if you live in a somewhat temperate place.  I open my windows and the fans help circulate the air very well.  Even a really good fan is about $30 or less and you don't even need one for each room.  Of course on very hot or humid days nothing is going to beat the central air.

Answer 3

YES and a scrawny ridge vent has nothing to do with it,as you wont feel air flow thru that  tiny gap.

Answer 4

Im a firm believer of them.  I have lived in the north with them and used it all summer, only need a/c for a week or two out of the year.   Now that I live in the south, I use mine for a month in the spring and a month in the fall.  It saves me more money in one months use than the cost of the fan.

Answer 5

Other person posted..........."In some regard FANS fool us, and certainly moving air FEELS different than static air, offering an illusion, mostly in front of a fan, that we feel COOLER."

This is not completely true.  The effectiveness of a whole house fan depends largely on what type of climate you live in.  We live in a desert climate where the days are as hot as 107 and the evenings are in the 60's.  So the fan is perfect for us because we open the windows in the evening and pull all of the cool air in.  We have no need for the a/c to run at night so that saves money as the whole house fan cost less to run.  If you live in an area that does not cool down in the evenings or is very humid, the fan may not be a good option for you.  Before installing your fan, check to see if your electric company will give you a rebate.  We got a $50 rebate for using a fan on their approved list.