How Does AC and Whole House Fans Compare?

Let’s be honest. If you live in a warm climate, then you’re always concerned about staying cool when it is 80+ degrees outside. There is nothing worse than your AC unit to stop pumping cool air throughout your home, especially during the dog days of summer. There are some things to consider when deciding if you should use a whole house fan or an air conditioner. Here are the differences:

Whole House Fan
A whole house fan is a complete exhaust system, which is different from a normal attic fan. Air circulates throughout the entire home and then is vented to the attic by ducts strategically placed throughout the house. The fan then operates as an engine that grabs the air from the living space by pulling in fresh air from outside. Windows have to be open in order for this to work properly. With a roof mounted unit, an attic may not be necessary in order to use a whole fan. It will still work by pulling cool air inside.

To keep it simple, whole house fans operate optimally by pulling the fresh dusk or dawn air into the house and pushing the hot air out. This rapid air movement not only gets the home cooler quicker, but it also stays cooler for a longer time period. These machines are strong and they cool the actual mass rather than just the surface area.

Ideally, whole house fans should be used when the air from outside is cooler than the air that is inside. It is perfect for early spring and late autumn, and even in the summer in some northern climates and terrains at higher elevations.

Air Conditioning
Many of these exist throughout the world. You simply have a central cooling system that provides cool air through a series of ducts throughout your home to provide cool air in your home. There is also a process that draws out the warm air inside to help maintain that cool air. These will definitely help you stay cool throughout the summer.

What is more efficient?
Studies reveal that a whole house fan uses around 90 percent less power than an A/C system in order to cool a house.  One reason being is that air conditioning takes more time to cool down a home than a whole house fan, which can drop the temperature quickly once turned on.

Ready to realize the energy efficient benefits and financial savings of a whole house fan? Take a look at our most popular whole house fans and energy saving whole house fans.