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Cutting holes in the house

Posted : 7/19/2006 9:32:52 PM

BF is up in the attic right now cutting holes for attic fans. Our a/c hasn't shut off at all in days, except when we make it take a break and the house is still averaging 80 degrees. Last electric bill was $250+ - it's only a 1600 sq ft house!! So he took the temp in the attic a couple days in a row and it was 160!! So we're getting attic fans.

Anyone else installed these? Do they make a big difference?

ron2

Posted : 7/19/2006 9:55:37 PM

The front of my house faces west and is built longways north to south. The roof has vented gables at each end. At the south gable, I have an electric attic fan with a built-in thermostat. And yes, it does make a difference. I've heard that even the whirlygigs, non-motorized convective fan-blades, help by allowing heat to escape.

smilee1079

Posted : 7/19/2006 11:13:50 PM

Funny you ask... we put one in 2 days ago. It has helped but it is still hot up there. However, we have a sorta diff't purpose... our "attic" is going to be out bedroom. It is all finished and has some crawl spaces on the side. But upstairs is tooooooo hot or cold depending on the season so we have been using the guest bedroom downstairs since we moved in. Finally, after a yr (this was supposed to be a number 1 priority) my bf got the fan put in but although it is cooler, it is still not cool enough midday. I think my bf may install an air conditioner unit to help (he wants to put it in a wall, with the crawl space behind it, instead of in a window). The fan did help for sure though!

ron2

Posted : 7/20/2006 6:01:06 AM

If the house has wood siding, I've seen where people installed them in the wall. The back side is exposed and the condensation drain from the evaporator can just run outside.

glenmar

Posted : 7/20/2006 7:41:30 AM

we have a massive attic fan in this house. With temps approaching 100 degrees (in northern MI for heavens sakes) I did use the AC for us instead of just for the dogs when we were out, but honestly, the attic fan really does a great job of pulling the heat out of the entire house. With mine I have to be sure that opposing windows are opened and man, when they are, it feels like a good stiff wind is blowing through the house.

probe1957

Posted : 7/20/2006 9:59:31 AM

When I was in Colorado, we didn't have AC. Lots of houses didn't. We had what they called a whole house fan. Since it was a new house and didn't have shade trees, we did use the fan. It made quite a bit of noise but did keep the house cool. Like Glenda said, it was like there was always a breeze blowing through the house.

I am not sure if a whole house fan is a different thing than the attic fan you are describing, but I think it is. This fan, as I recall, was in the back hall and vented into the attic, which had gable vents, to expel the hot air

Kara

Posted : 7/20/2006 10:24:06 AM

Do you mean the electric powered attic fans? They will definitely help, but if they are the electric fans they will of course be using electricity so it's kind of a tradeoff. I know there are solar kits you can use to run the powered fans that will help keep electricity costs down. If you are talking about turbines, they also help some, but the catch with them is that they only work when there is wind to propel them. You would probably be much better off with a ridge vent and some sort of intake ventilation like a soffit or undereave vent.

Don't feel bad about your electric bill, we have an 1700 sq ft house and my electric bill last month was $385.00. [:@]

sooner

Posted : 7/20/2006 10:24:13 AM

What we're installing (I think) is a push/pull system in the attic. Or maybe a pull/pull system. Anyway, he cut two squares in the sides up near roof level and installed these louver covered grate thingys and I guess the fan sits behind them in the attic to push (or pull) the hot air out. Can you tell I have no idea what I'm talking about?

I just hope it helps - it has to help the house if the attic isn't 160 degrees.

So now we have another problem. I pulled one of the a/c vent covers off of the floor vent and the hole was full of water. So either our evaporator is dying or clogged, right?

sooner

Posted : 7/20/2006 10:28:11 AM

They are electric, but they shouldn't use any more electricity than a ceiling fan.

We do have undereave vents too. What's a ridge vent?

OUCH!

smilee1079

Posted : 7/20/2006 10:44:00 AM

Ron, I think he is going to put it in a wall inside the house, which has a storage/crawl space on the other side where he will catch the condensation... I am not sure. I noticed some 2x4's in the living room he plans to use for it too though.

Kara

Posted : 7/20/2006 11:11:26 AM

A ridge vent runs along the peak of the roof, we're actually putting one on our roof soon just because they help so very much. [linkhttp://www.gaf.com/General/GafMain.asp?Silo=RES1&WS=GAF&App=ROOF&Force=RS_whyuse_ventchart.html]HERE[/link] is a little table from GAF about roof ventilation. Mind you these people sell vent products so you kind of have to keep that in mind, but the table is pretty good. [linkhttp://www.carlsonbrothers.com/ridgevent.html]HERE is a page on ridge vents.[/link]

tashakota

Posted : 7/20/2006 11:20:16 AM

My parents have an attic fan, it sits in the ceiling of the upstairs hallway. It sucks air through the house and into the attic. The attic has vents on either side where the air is pushed out of the attic. This fan is all we had growing up and I never really thought there was a problem. Now my parents have AC and they rarely use it. It was a cool evening over July 4th when I visisted them and I had them turn on the attic fan and shut off the AC. Man, what a nice breeze!!!!

fuzzy_dogs_mom

Posted : 7/20/2006 11:32:41 AM

Putting in a whole house fan is going to be my next electrical project, for sure. The ceiling fans are great, but when the temp gets to about 106 you need something more. When we put on a new roof about 3 years ago, the company that did it also installed turbines on the roof but they're basically useless unless the wind is blowing - and the wind rarely blows when the temps are that high.

Joyce

ron2

Posted : 7/20/2006 6:43:31 PM

The turbine you mentioned is what I learned to call a whirlygig. Hot air rises and they should turn by means of convection, though a good breeze will help some.

ron2

Posted : 7/20/2006 6:46:36 PM

I was going to say, as long as he has a way to drain condensation from the evaporator coil, he should be okay. When they added central ac to my house (way before I got it), they ran the condensation drain pipe from the pan in the central unit down through hvac closet, under the house (concrete pier and wood beam) and poke it out the hole where the front water tap is. Nowadays, you can't do that. you have to tie the condensate drain into the house drain pipe.