All House Fan vs. Air Conditioning

[Jimbo]

I was told an all house fan is more efficient than AC for keeping the house cool. My house is wired for it, never thought about it much before now. Anyone got an opinion either way? I know we'll have to have a big louver put in somewhere. If it saves in the long run, might be a good idea.

[PRBuzz]

I've got central AC and the one thing a whole house fan (presumably something much more than an attic fan) can't do is lower the humidity! Also mid/late day the only thing a whole house fan does is suck in hot air. An A/C is also good to help those with pollen allergies: keep the house closed up. A whole house fan sucks in all the pollen, something to think about.

Do you have ceiling fans? Especially in the bedroom, they work great to help the illusion of cool.

[Raven]

not enough months of the year
that you actually need an AC
to worry about cost effectiveness

you cannot get close enough to a Fan
plus the AC takes the hot air out

the fan just blows it around and around

[Jenn]

both! once the heat hit the ACs went on and didnt stop until september. We put a house fan in and now only run the ACs when its just unbearably hot or humid (we have only run them about 3-4 days total so far this year.) With the fan you suck in all the cool air at night and close the windows in the AM before things heat up. You would be amazed at how comfy you'll be with just the fan. Even just the air circulation, and not so much the temperature, is all you need.

Another nice thing is it cools the attic making the house cooler too. Run the fan for a bit and then throw on the ACs....saves a lot of time trying to get the house cooled down.

We keep saying the fan is the best thing we ever did! All in all a must if you ask me. its only downfall is in a humid heat wave...it will help but not replace the comfort of AC when the 3 H's roll in

Oh and it paid for itself in electric savings in about 2 months!

[Saltheart]

I agree , get both. Some days you just need to pay the bill and run the airco but other times , at night , the temp drops and a whole house fan can blow out the hot air and suck in the cool are in minutes at a cost way less than running the airco all night!

[MakoMike]

Every whole house fan I have ever seen in operation had one thing in common, they are very noisy! I guess they have to be to move that much air.

[tattoobob]

Air conditioning is great the problem is people would rather sit inside in the cool air than go outside and do activities it leads to a sedimentary life style. I have central AC and it might get used 2-3 times a year.

I promote fans