Factors to Consider When Buying a Whole House Fan
One of the most important factors to consider when buying a whole house fan is choosing a quality brand. Quiet Cool is by far one of the most popular brands due to the quality of their builds, their energy efficiency, and their quiet operation.
Other considerations depend on the size of your home, models, and additional features you’d like to see in your fan.
Square Footage
Square footage is a major factor when considering a whole house fan. The amount of air a whole house fan can move per minute is measured by cubic feet per minute (CFM). You need to choose a whole house fan with a CFM that matches the square footage of your home. Otherwise, you could get a fan that isn’t powerful enough to fully ventilate your home or cause problems with air pressure and waste electricity with a fan that is way too powerful.
To determine the relative CFM you need for your home, it’s recommended that you double or triple the square footage of your home. If you have high ceilings, you’ll be better off tripling your square footage to account for the extra air from your high ceilings.
Your Attic
First, your attic needs to have exhaust vents, because your whole house fan needs an exit for the air it’s pulling into the attic. This could include gable vents, soffit vents, ridge vents, baffle vents, or any vent in the attic that supports ventilation. If your attic is completely sealed then you’ll need to install vents before you install a whole house fan.
Second, you need to make sure your attic has enough room to install a whole house fan. If the space is too tight, then you will be unable to install a fan. However, depending on the size of your home and attic, you could be able to install a smaller ceiling-mounted whole house fan.
On the other hand, if your attic has high ceilings, a ceiling-mounted whole house fan may have trouble exhausting the air through the vents so a ducted whole house fan may be more effective.
Ducted Versus Ductless Whole House Fan
Ductless whole house fans are generally installed on the ceiling between the attic and the room below it. They pull air in through the ceiling and exhaust it through the vents in the attic. Ducted whole house fans are hung from the rafters of the attic and are installed next to the attic vents and use ducts to connect the fan to the rest of the house for ventilation.
Generally, ductless whole house fans are more powerful than ducted whole house fans but tend to be louder.
Other Features
Other features to consider include energy-saving whole house fans that provide maximum energy efficiency, quiet whole house fans which minimize noise, insulation, remote access, and more.
Browse WholeHouseFan.com to learn more about whole house fan or pick the perfect one for your home!