Is House Vent Fan Cheaper than Air Conditioner?

Question

On my house thermostat I have a fan or air conditioner option, If I let the fan run usually it has to stay running to cool home, If I use ac then it will turn off and on when set to auto. My question is, which is more energy efficient?

Answer 1

Do not hesitate dude, energy saving range is evident. It is a way to lower costs.

Answer 2

If you mean an attic fan, then yes it will help keep you cooler and it uses much less electricity than an AC unit. It will drop the temp in your attic a lot which keeps that heat from seeping into your house. But an attic fan alone won't keep you comfortable on a hot day, you'll need other fans or an AC unit. The AC won't need to run nearly as much so overall you'll save a good deal of electricity while still staying comfortable. Setting your thermostat to 78 or higher will save you even more and with a fan it's hard to tell the difference.

Answer 3

THE FAN RUNNING 24 / 7 IS CHEAPER THAN THE A.C. COMPRESSOR CYCLING . WANT TO SEE THE DIFFERENCE ? HAVE SOMEONE TURN BOTH ON AND OFF WHILE YOU WATCH THE METER RUN . WHEN THE FAN GOES ON -----YOU WON'T SEE THE DIFFERENCE , BUT WHEN THE A.C. COMPRESSOR KICKS IN THE METER WILL JUMP AND RUN FAST .

Answer 4

A whole house fan is definitely cheaper, but your air handler fan probably is as well - read the labels on each to find out the watts used.  Then do the same for your condensing unit on your AC.  Also, do what the person here said about watching the meter.  And ignore the person who said you wouldn't be cool.  When using a whole house fan, open some low windows (on the first floor or basement) and then turn on the whole house fan - which should be in the attic.  The house will cool, and your skin will cool due to evaporation/transpiration, and so on . . .  If your air handler is in the basement, take the coverpanels off and let the cooler basement air be circulated through the system - we do this sometimes to get the cool basement air up to the warm and stuffy second floor.

To get the hard evidence, read the Solar House, by Daniel Chiras - Chelsea Green Publishers and go to the chapter on passive cooling.

Answer 5

The fan running should be cheaper.

Answer 6

The fan might be cheaper, but you ain't gonna be cool with it.