Whole house cooling solution may be a good alternative to use of the traditional HVAC systems for most of the year in San Diego. Whole house fans in combination with other circulating devices including ceiling fans can provide acceptable comfort in your home during the summer even when it really hot outside. In addition, ducts from your traditional HVAC system can be modified to provide whole house cooling.

 

The whole house fan takes air from the open windows and removes it through the attic and roof of your home. On top of cooling your whole house it provides good ventilation to your attic. On average whole house fan provides the house with 30 to 60 air changes per hour.

 

In case you think you can install a whole house fan yourself we want to warn you that often times it gets tricky and should be done by a professional who will know how to install dedicated circuit wiring and, sometimes new attic vents. Job requires precision measurements and a skillset that most people don’t have.

 

Most of the times, vents on your attic need to be redone to increase ventilation capability and be able to remove all of the fan’s air outside.

 

You have to be careful while operating large exhaust fans. Make sure to open windows throughout the house to avoid strong and concentrated suction in one area. If you fail to provide enough ventilation you risk to cause a backdraft in your furnace, gas-fired dryer or water heater that will result in polluting your living space with combustion products such as carbon monoxide being pulled instead of the fresh air.

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Disadvantages of Whole House Fans

 

Whole house fans can be noisy, especially if improperly installed. In general, a large-capacity fan running at low speed makes less noise than a small fan operating at high speed. All whole house fans should be installed with rubber or felt gaskets to dampen noise. You can set a multi-speed fan to a lower speed when noise is a problem.

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Using Your Duct System as a Whole House Fan

 

You may be able to use the heating and air conditioning ducts in your home as a means of whole house ventilation. This would involve installing an intake duct to pull air into an attic-mounted system that directs the air into your heating and cooling ducts. A damper would control exhaust air from your home into the attic.

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