| Author |
Message |
    
Bklyngirl
Citizen
Username: Bklyngirl
Post Number: 124
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 1:40 pm: | 
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My attic is incredibly warm in the summer, but it's comfortable in the winter. We don't have central air, just window units.
I've seen threads re: attic fans, but I don't know what their purpose is, exactly. Is that what would aleviate the heat up there?
bklyngirl |
Jersey_Boy
Citizen
Username: Jersey_boy
Post Number: 1058
Registered: 1-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 2:25 pm: |
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Kind of. The attic fan sucks air up from the lower and cooler parts of the house and can generate a mild breeze. They may cool the attic but that's not the primary purpose. The primary purpose is to cool the house.
Do you have Greg Brady setting up a groovy pad up there?
J.B. |
HOMMELL
Citizen
Username: Hommell
Post Number: 227
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 2:29 pm: |
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I think you are talking about two different things: a whole-house fan (to ventilate the house) and an attic fan (to ventilate the attic).
Bklyngirl, to which are you referring? |
Bklyngirl
Citizen
Username: Bklyngirl
Post Number: 125
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 2:43 pm: |
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I'm not sure. I've never heard of a whole-house fan until now.
LOL... There's a pretty good sized bedroom off our attic storage area, which we use as a guest room occasionally. The room itself has a window unit, but it's not big enough to cool the storage area part of the attic. I may not need to, but I've read the threads on attic fans and wondered if it wouldn't hurt to have one.
A whole-house fan sounds like a good idea. Especially, since all we have are window units.
bklyngirl |
jeffl
Supporter
Username: Jeffl
Post Number: 1739
Registered: 8-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 3:10 pm: |
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Does anyone have someone who would install a whole house or attic fan? |
cats
Citizen
Username: Cats
Post Number: 65
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 9:27 pm: |
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We had an attic fan installed in our roof (not a whole house fan). First, our electrician suggested we contact a roofer since they are more adept at cutting a hole - into which they placed the fan. Then, our electrician did the hook-up. |
tabby
Citizen
Username: Tabby
Post Number: 315
Registered: 8-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 14, 2006 - 6:08 am: |
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We have what we refer to as an attic fan, but it is really a whole house fan. Alot of houses in MPL/SO have them;they were popular in the days before air conditioning. Ours is perhaps not completely original to the house but has been in the attic for many years. It still works great.
We really love our fan. On cool nights it draws out the hot air and sends in cool outside air via a gentle breeze. It saves alot of $$ on a/c. Of course when it is very hot out then we switch to window a/c in the height of summer.
The trick is to keep open the windows you want the air. If all are open then there is less breeze, the fewer windows open the more concentrated breeze.
It also cools down the attic.
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Bklyngirl
Citizen
Username: Bklyngirl
Post Number: 126
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 14, 2006 - 8:24 am: |
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Someone told me that you can also use an attic fan in the winter to circulate the warm air. Is he wrong?
bklyngirl |
John
Citizen
Username: Jdm
Post Number: 68
Registered: 3-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 14, 2006 - 9:04 am: |
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The air doesn't circulate. It gets pulled out via the attic and new air comes in from the outside. In the winter that air is cold. 
If you use your attic as part of your house and you have AC, you probably don't want either of these. Neither is designed for inhabited attics really. Your best bet may be to make sure that the rest of the attic and the roof are well insulated, and if you're not going to AC the attic, then get a window fan up there and blow out the hot air. Best if you have two windows so that new outside air can come in instead of nice cool AC-ed air from downstairs.
I'm a big fan of closing up the house during the hot days and opening it up again in the cool evenings. Add a few window fans to increase the air circulation (or a whole-house fan), and we typically can enjoy AC-less living during much of the summer. Of course there are those times when even the night-time air is hot and this doesn't work. |
Bklyngirl
Citizen
Username: Bklyngirl
Post Number: 127
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 14, 2006 - 10:30 am: |
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My attic acts as part of the house most of the time, so it sounds like an attic fan is out of the question.
Thanks.
bklyngirl |
John Caffrey
Citizen
Username: Jerseyjack
Post Number: 321
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 14, 2006 - 12:07 pm: |
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It is the ceiling fan in a room that circulates warm air in winter.
Whole house fan is the best but the attic fan helps. Since warm air rises, the attic is the hottest part of the house. Get rid of that heat and the heat from the house rises to replace it. At night, you will seldom use an air conditioner. |
jsr
Citizen
Username: Jsr
Post Number: 10
Registered: 3-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 14, 2006 - 12:51 pm: |
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John
I don't have AC and was wondering about opening or closing of windows during the daytime on hot days. I used to keep all the windows open all day (closing the blinds)with the ceiling fans, but realize all I'm doing is bringing hot air into the house. Does it make more sense to keep everything closed off until the end of the day, then open up for the night??
Jeff
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sac
Supporter
Username: Sac
Post Number: 3508
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 14, 2006 - 1:43 pm: |
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What tabby said!
We love our whole house (AKA 'Attic') fan. We contracted with our electrician (Brian Stromko) to install it. It was installed in a side wall of our finished attic, not the roof. He hired the carpenters that did that work and then he handled the electrical work, obtained the fan, etc. |
John
Citizen
Username: Jdm
Post Number: 69
Registered: 3-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 14, 2006 - 9:10 pm: |
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jsr,
Yes, but some houses will still heat up. The idea is to keep the draughts down (remember how your grandparents used to worry about them? Italians still do.) and so the heat out of the house. Use fans (esp. ceiling ones) to move the air around and keep people feeling cooler. Then in the evening, open everything up and let the cool air in; window fans can speed up the process, especially on still evenings. I have an outdoor thermometer which I watch (obsessively) during the hot months.
Again, sometimes the nights don't cool off enough and the house just stays hot. Better insulated houses have more success with this.
Opening a few windows can relieve stuffiness without bringing in too much air, but again watch for the draughts.
Shutters were made for this kind of thing, but one rarely sees functioning ones. |
tabby
Citizen
Username: Tabby
Post Number: 322
Registered: 8-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, June 17, 2006 - 9:21 am: |
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We have our attic/house fan on now (and last night) and I am getting a very nice breeze through my windows. Very refreshing. Love the morning air! |
Travis
Citizen
Username: Travis
Post Number: 446
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, June 17, 2006 - 9:40 pm: |
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Tamarack makes efficient (low running cost) whole-house fans that are designed to draw in outside cool air at night. They sit on the attic floor and are intended to vent through the ridge vents in the roof. Use local fans to generate a breeze.
Bklngirl, if your attic is not vented or the vents are baffled over, you could use one of these fans if you install awning windows in the gable walls (awnings because it's not a disaster if they're left open during the rain). |
Bklyngirl
Citizen
Username: Bklyngirl
Post Number: 132
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Monday, June 19, 2006 - 8:05 am: |
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Thanks, Travis. I'll certainly look into that.
bklyngirl |
moving soon
Citizen
Username: Movingsoon
Post Number: 119
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Monday, June 19, 2006 - 9:53 am: |
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minor thread drift: are there window fans that enable you to still close the window or otherwise block the outside air while you have the a/c on? If so, can you recommend the specific make/model? |
SOSully
Citizen
Username: Sullymw
Post Number: 1283
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 20, 2006 - 9:09 am: |
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yes, there are fans that allow you to close the window. I can't remember where I saw them though. Definitely online...maybe Amazon.com?? |
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