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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Any of you have an attic fan?
It's been HOT down here in NC this summer, so DH and I decided to get our attic fan fixed so we could try that instead of always just putting on the A/C. We close our windows during the day, and then when we get home from work (6pm-ish) we'll open some windows and put on the attic fan and it usually gets the house cool enough to not run the a/c. My only fear is that the fans (we have the big one sucking out the air from the house into the attic and then the one that blows the hot air out of the attic) might be using just as much electricity. Anyone have any ideas on that? FWIW, our a/c is relatively new--not sure if its energy star or not, but its less than 10 years old.
Re: Any of you have an attic fan?
My parents have a whole-houe fan that's 30 years old, and my understanding from them is that it's pennies on the dollar compared to AC, even for that old one (they finally had air installed 2 years ago). Have you gotten any utility bills to see if your usage has gone down? We have Smart Meters here, and I can sign onto my account and see in real time what our usage is. You also might be able to compare by turning on the AC and watching the meter and then turning on the fans and watching the meter; I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure ours has numbers displayed that we can watch. Your power company might be able to tell you how to compare the two. I know our water meter has a number display; we've used that before to monitor whether something was leaking.
I'm jealous. We're going to have one installed eventually here. I miss the fan I grew up with sooo much. Evenings with that cool air circulating were heaven!
Thanks to the responses so far. Unfortunately, we don't have that smart meter option (at least I don't think so) and I think we got the fan fixed in between billing cycles so I don't know if we'll be able to do a comparison with 1 month of A/C, 1 month of House fan (and I think that's what I should have called it from the get-go--thanks!!)
But Tuna--we have a ranch, and it really is a significant difference--Dh checked and one day got the house cooler by 8 degrees in about 10-15 minutes of running the fans. The attic part of the fan was what we had to get fixed--actually the attic fan had to be replaced and re-wired--and it was less than $300 all told. I used a licensed, but independent "mom and pop" electrician to do it. If you don't already have the house fan installed, it will probably cost less. My house fan is in the cental hallway ceiling. A neighbor of my parents installed one into their colonial though--I think as long as you have an attic you can have one. Good luck and I hope this helps!
Can you compare usage (not price, but amount used) to last summer? Even if it wasn't as hot, you might get some idea. If anything, you'd know that the AC would have been used more this year (if it's hotter). If not, I'd call the utility and see if there's some way to track it on the meter (watching display numbers, etc.). They might even do an energy audit for you for free and might be able to give you some idea how much you're saving and give you other ideas for saving. I think my neighbor got a PG&E energy audit.
Tunanuna- we have a two story house and our fan in the the hallway on the second floor is maybe three feet by three feet? When it's off it just looks like a 3x3 flat metal fixture and on it looks like a regular fan spinning very fast. A friend was recently quoted about 400 dollars plus installation and at least in our area there are rebates offered.
Whole house fans work really well in areas where the temperature cools down at night because the house can only get as cool as the outside- I wouldn't want to have one in Vegas, but for Denver it's great. We generally open a window in our bedroom and a few downstairs, which is plenty of airflow for a nice breeze. I've heard some fans can be noisy, but we really don't notice the sound especially when we are downstairs. I also use ours in the spring or fall when it's nice outside to warm up the house after a cool night.
We just put in this solar attic fan a few months ago. It was more expensive than some electric versions (~$400 out the door), but a) no increased electricity costs, b) super easy to install and c) it's a tax deduction.
We're in California, so totally different climate, but it's made a decent difference so far. We have not been using our ceiling fans this year because our newest dog (the spotted one below) is terrified of them and we're still working on desensitizing her. So once we can use the attic fan and ceiling fans together I think my husband will quit whining for AC
OP running an attic fan will cost you significantly less than running a traditional split system air conditioning unit.
Tuanuna, what general area of the country are you in? People can give you all the suggestions of what works in their area but if you live farther north I wouldn't recommend an attic fan. Also if you have a newer home and/or a lot of insulation in your attic (aka the proper amount of insulation if you live in a cooler climate) it wouldn't be as effective. New homes have smaller infiltration rates and have better insulation which is why they aren't normally installed in new homes. Additionally in a two story house an attic fan would only affect the upper story.
Living in WI an attic fan would only be needed 2 months out of the year. The heating season is where you need to focus on saving energy. When we were faced with replacing our oil burning furnace and air conditioner (quoted $15K) last year we went with a geothermal system instead. It has saved us so much in less than a year and has much, much smaller carbon footprint! It will have paid for the difference (7K) in 4 years and paid for itself completely (22K) in 7-8 years .
Thanks everybody! Sorry I forgot that my location is not listed. I live in MD. It has been in the 90's and low100's most of this psycho summer. We have a cape cod (I guess). The main level, the upstairs with an extended back roof so it is finished with two rooms - always a furnace, and then a finished basement.
Any input you have given the additional info would be greatly appreciated!!
But low 100's is not typical. I design energy efficient HVAC systems for a living and according to the last 30 years of TMY (typical meteorological year) data you're area is at 91F or less 99% of the year.
You didn't answer my question on the age of your house. How leaky is your house in general? Is it drafty in the winter?
In MD an R-value of 38 in the attic is recommended to be considered energy efficient for residential homes. I can almost guarantee you that you don't have that much insulation. So instead of spending your money on an attic fan invest in some insulation (which you can easily DIY). Insulation has the shortest return on investment of any other home remodeling project. Your 30 year TMY winter temperature is 11F. Which means you're going to spend significantly more on heating your house than cooling it.
Additionally, after you put in insulation in your attic it will help reducing your cooling bills slightly and greatly help your heating bills. Having an attic fan would not be effective because they need heat transfer between your upper floor ceiling and the attic which you will have very little of.
On a side note we're estimated to only spend $42 this year on cooling our home from May to September with our geothermal system.
Sorry I missed some of your questions. Our house was built in the 50s. I'm sure it isn't airtight. The most draft seems to come from our doors which we are looking at replacing. I would love to have an energy audit done. They seem to be around $400 and I just haven't decided to spend it. I know that it is probably worth it though.
Could you tell me some about your geothermal system and whether you think that this is an option for this area? I appreciate the knowledge and info that you are sharing!
I just spoke with my DH and he had puchased insulation with an R value of 19 for the attick wall. He states that due to our 4" studs we don't have room for any more. The blown insulation on the floor will be about a 38. Do you have any other suggestions? Thanks!