Whole house fans aren’t just for ventilation. They can also help keep your home cooler through the warm season, for much less money than running an air conditioner. Here is what whole house fans can do for you and how they work.
What Whole House Fans Do
Whole house fans are large, powerful fans installed in your attic. From here, they can pull the hottest out of your home, as it naturally gathers up here in the attic. When they pull this air out, they also draw the rest of the air in your home up, slowly circulating all of the air. This replaces the hottest air with cooler air from outside.
Cooling in Humid Climates
You may hear of whole house fans as alternatives to air conditioners, and they can be. But in California, our climate means that the air outside is often much hotter than the air in our homes. There are a few weeks in spring and fall when using a whole house fan can help circulate air and cool down our homes. That is a much more energy efficient option than turning on your air conditioner early or leaving it on late in the year. If you walk outside and think it’d be the perfect temperature if there was just a breeze, those are often the days whole house fans make your home comfortable.
Still, most Californians will want an air conditioner for the summers. You may worry that the whole house fan will undermine the efficiency of your air conditioner over the summer, by pulling in air from outside. However, you can turn off the fan through the summer, and it has protections to keep it from leaking out your cool air.
Proper Ventilation
A common misconception is that whole house fans are needed in order to properly ventilate your attic. While we install whole house fans in the attic, they aren’t necessary for the ventilation of the attic. The attic should have its own vents that keep it from developing heat and moisture issues.
However, whole house fans can improve ventilation in your home. They can help clear out allergens like dust and pet dander and help refresh the air from smells and carbon dioxide build up. Having a whole house fan is like having a refreshing breeze in your home. Of course, if you have outdoor allergens, then you may need an air purifier in your home to remove the allergens the fan brings in.
An Efficient Solution
If you can only use a whole house fan for a few months of the year, why go to the trouble of installing it? Quite simply, it is much more cost effective than running your air conditioner. Our houses naturally produce heat, from us, cooking, showering, and more. Ridding that small amount of heat from your home can make it the perfect temperature, without needing to run anything more complicated than a big fan. This helps you save money on your utilities while keeping your home comfortable.
