As summer quickly approaches I wanted to share an archived post about whole house fans and gable attic fans. This post was written to help a reader decide which type of attic fan was best for her home.
Marrisa wrote to me and wants to know about whole house fans vs attic fans.
I’ve been considering installing an attic fan in my house, and wondered what your thoughts were. First, is an attic fan the same thing as a “whole house fan?” I’ve seen sites apparently use the phrases interchangeably, though I don’t know if that’s correct. Second, do these fans save a significant amount of energy versus central air?
There is a huge difference between Gable Attic Fan
Gable Attic Fans – are mounted to the gable wall inside the attic behind a decorative louver. The gable attic fan is connected to a proper power supply and a timer. The timer allows the fan to run during the hottest portion of the day. The gable attic fan helps reduce the attic temperature to help prevent heat transfer down through the insulation and into the living space. Gable attic fans are typically much cheaper than whole house fans and also easier to install.
This system is most effective when the temperature outside drops below the temperature inside the house. Whole house fans can be very effective in cooling down a house in the morning and evening hours. In some parts of the country they can be a very inexpensive alternative to central air.
Whole house fans typically have some type of louver and/or insulated door that closes when the fan is shut off. This helps keep warm and cold air out of the living space when the unit is not being used.
The other part of Marissa’s question was about installing these units herself. I’d rate the installation of a whole house fan as a difficult / advance home improvement project. I’m not sure I would recommend this project to most DIY folks. Having said that, if you’re really comfortable with electrical work, framing and cutting drywall then you can probably tackle the job. You can probably cut in the unit and get it ready then hire an electrician to wire it up.
Do any of you have a whole house fan? Would you recommend one for others as an alternative to central air?
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Thank you for the response, Todd! I appreciate it. I'd love to get a whole house fan put in, since the outside air temperature is often cool enough to be comfortable, if I could just get it *moving* through the house. Sounds like a whole house fan would fit the bill nicely. (FAST response, too!) Thanks again!
We have a non-working attic fan.. I would say gable, but we have no gables. I've been wondering what might be required to get it working again... it sure would be nice to have in the summer!
Timely post! Here I am making up a budget for home improvements, with an attic fan at the top of the list! The thing that had me worried, is our one estimate told me they'd have to cut a hole in the roof (this was over the phone) and then my dad got me all worried about them doing it wrong and our roof leaking. However, we do have a little gable vent just like that in our attic, so maybe it just needs a fan installed...or maybe there is a broken one already up there!
I have one more question...what about solar attic fans? I was talking to a green building guy earlier this summer who recommended one, but again my dad said that regular attic fans probably save more money in AC costs than the use in electricity any way. And the solar fan costs several hundred dollars more upfront. What do you think?
@ Green Me - It is possible that more ventilation is needed in the roof, eaves, gable or soffit to allow for the volume of air being moved by the whole house fan. If you already have gable vents they might just need to be resized. I would get multiple quotes from reputable companies and ask lots of questions.
Solar attic fans are a great idea, however, they are not the same as a whole house fan.
We have a whole house fan currently in our home, as well as put them into all the homes we build. I strongly recommend & believe it to be highly effective for a quick-response cooling of the entire house!! I grew up in NJ, in a home w/ both central air as well as a whole house fan- we all enjoyed the natural air far more than the produced chilled air of the AC!
Easy to install to boot!! :o) It is placed between the floor joists- and can be positioned nearly anywhere w/in the parameters of the central hall (we aim to not have it w/in direct sight when you come up the stairs for better esthetics). Genius!
I grew up with a whole house fan, if not to hot outside it was great. And when the AC went out once it was a life saver. we would open only the windows in the rooms we were in to get max airflow from those windows. it creates an artificial breeze coming in from the outside. I would install both. the gable fan ( I would presume it is on a temperature controlled switch) can cool the attic when your not using the whole house fan to help keep your bills down even more.
When I checked out solar fans, they were only 500 CFM. (They move 500 cubic feet of air per minute). Electric ones are usually 1200 to 1600 CFM, and they run at night. (Mine shuts off at around 10:00 usually) If you are considering a solar fan, remeber, your AC may run more than if you got a powered attic fan.
I have an attic fan which is not working. It's approx. over 21 ys. old and was in the house when I bought it.. The fan is installed in the roof. I've been quoted a price of $500.00 to replace (prob. doesn't include labor, the quote was left on my phone message ). Since, what I have is so old, will it be hard to replace and not leave a leaky roof? Also, is this how it's done currently? Good price? It's already getting very warm in the crawl space attic. Thanks
@ C Muschlitz - Really hard to say without seeing how the fan is installed. Some fans are indeed installed through the roof. $500 seems to be a fair price. Be sure there is adequate power and fan volume.
This is great info. We bought an older home and are planning to get a new roof installed this summer. The attic has floor boards for storage and a pull down ladder. Since we plan to store stuff in the attic, will we still be able to install a house fan or will we only be able to have an attic fan installed. I'd like to have this figured out before the new roof goes in so any holes in the roof can be taken care of with the roofers. Based on the location of the pull-down steps, it looks like the house fan will have to be installed close or if not next to the pull-down steps...any issues with this?
@ Brian - Many people have attic storage and whole house fans. The only issue in my mind is dust/wind near stored materials. You just need to keep sufficient distance from the fan to stored materials. Whole house fans are a very effective way to cool your home. Best of luck!
Bought a home w/whole house fan installed in hallway. It does suck in the outside air and pollen and dust. We recently removed it and will be installing gable fans to remove hot attic air only, without the problem of dust and pollen being drawn in. There is something to be said about clean AC air.
Your point about dusty air being sucked in really changed my mind about a whole house fan! Nowhere else did anyone mention this... and in my area, there is a ton of sandy silt in the air. Thanks so much. You saved me a lot of money, time, and aggravation!!!
Erik