What to Consider When Choosing a Whole House Fan

A whole house fan will keep your home cool and you comfortable at a much lesser cost than air conditioning. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a whole house fan is an inexpensive and simple way to cool your home. It provides you with outstanding ventilation, improves evaporative cooling and lowers your indoor temperatures.

There are several things to take into consideration when deciding on which whole house fan to choose.

  1. Size
    A whole house fan works best when you size it properly for your home. To do this, you'll want to figure out your home's overall air volume. Measure each room's floor length and width using a tape measure.  Use a calculator to multiply each floor's width. Identify the overall square-foot space of your floors by adding them together. Multiply the overall floor space by your ceilings' average height to find the cubic feet of the total air volume.

    Multiply, in cubic feet, the total air volume by 30, which represents a total air change every two minutes. Then, divide the number you get by 60 minutes which will allow you to identify the CFM (cubic feet per minute) your fan needs to move to achieve whole-house ventilation. Calculate the space of your attic air vents. You'll require a one square foot of attic venting minimum for every 750 CFM of air flow.

    Read about sizing your whole house fan.
  1. Location
    Decide on where you're going to install your whole house fan (not your bedroom). Typically, you'd install the fan in a central hallway which will allow air circulation throughout your whole house. The location of the fan will be based on functionality and aesthetics.
  1. Breeze Generation
    Many homeowners prefer more than just simple cooling. They're actually looking for a definitive breeze wafting through their house. With this option, cooling occurs quicker, although it might not achieve the same energy efficiency of other fan selections. In this example, you'd be looking for around a 2.5 to 3.0 CFM per sq. ft, which requires your fan to provide 5,000 to 6,000 CFM for a 2,000 sq. ft. house.
  1. Eco-Friendly
    Whole-house fans are eco-friendly. They're the perfect substitute for air conditioners because they're energy efficient. You'll save a lot of power by using a whole-house fan. It will cool your house and use around the same amount of power as a single fluorescent light bulb.

    Whole house fans provide a range of possible benefits to homeowners. They cool homes, lower utility bills, reduce your carbon footprint and offer better home air circulation. However, for you to experience these benefits of a whole house fan, you must select the right type for your home and requirements.

If you’re looking for a whole house fan and need help figuring out the best choice for your home, contact us here at WholeHouseFan.com and we'll be glad to help you out. 1.888-229-5757