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April 7, 2008
Need advice on whole house fan
We are planning on installing a whole house fan on a three story brownstone. As several previous posters have observed, almost all whole house fans are designed to vent into the attic. However, given the nature of Bklyn brownstones (flat roofs, no attic), we need a fan that mounts on the roof.
What have people trying to install whole house fans on brownstones found out? We have 3600 sq ft of space we are trying to ventilate, so it needs to be a powerful fan. I don't think other solutions previously mentioned such as turbines would work in this case.
Can anyone recommend an HVAC engineer that might be able to consult on this?
Thanks for any advice.
Comments
Good luck. I wish we had done this.
Posted by: slopefarm at April 8, 2008 9:56 AM
I'm skeptical about adding more things to houses that are solely electric-powered. Unless you also install solar panels to help lower electric bills it might not be the most appealing thing to you or future owners in the coming years. Is anybody thinking about this stuff as they obsess over central air and forced heat?
Posted by: guest at April 8, 2008 12:57 PM
Sure, 12:57, but if the fan allows the OP to reduce AC then it's a plus, right?
I obsess about how little anyone would pay for my house if I don't install CAC :-)
Posted by: denton at April 8, 2008 2:20 PM
Except Denton, looking at your potential profit long term, it could be a detriment to have electricity-powered AC and heat. It's not like people are going to become less interested in conservation as the years go by. It will only intensify.
Plus there are window AC's on the fanciest buildings on the UES. This is NYC. It's common.
Posted by: guest at April 8, 2008 3:10 PM
Running a fan at night consumes a hell of a lot less electricity than running AC, be it CAC or a window unit. Besides the potential cost savings, environmental benefit, etc etc, I just don't like AC air. Anyway, we are also installing a solar thermal system coupled with radiant floor heating and may or may not add PV panels if we have ANY money left.
From what I've read, whole house fans are a fantastic way of cooling down your house naturally, it's not gonna help much when it's 105 outside, but let's say 90% of time in summer it will be sufficient.
Posted by: beatlife at April 8, 2008 3:33 PM
And loud. You might want to visit a home that has one already to experience the sound level as well as the cooling sufficiency.
Posted by: guest at April 8, 2008 4:38 PM
Here's one: http://www.rewci.com/tatc.html
I googled, "whole house fan" & "no attic".
Let us know if you find any other good ones, this seems like a good idea.
Posted by: guest at April 8, 2008 4:55 PM
3:10, window AC units are far less efficient than CAC...
THe OP may want to visit
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/categories/hvacr/exhaust-fans/whole-house-fans
to see some HH fans.
Posted by: denton at April 8, 2008 5:11 PM
you might also want to think about where your make-up air is coming from if you put a whole house fan in the roof. you will probably want an air intake somewhere or you might end up drawing replacement air from your brownstone cellar which i would say might not be the best idea. unless of course you always open a window when you run the whole house fan.
Posted by: guest at April 8, 2008 8:47 PM
The house I grew up in had a whole house fan (vented to the attic), with no AC, and it was fantastic. It pulled air from the basement, which partially below grade and thus always a few degrees cooler than the rest of the house. Far more efficient than AC. If you're concerned about electric (12:57), then you should be concerned about the whole house, not just one appliance.
We've been thinking about getting a whole-house fan for our (atticless) row house. In our case, we have a bulkhead that could be mounted to, which would mean not having to do a roof penetration. I know Home Depot carries "mushroom" fans that look like they might do the job (roof installed or otherwise).
Posted by: WBer at April 9, 2008 12:56 PM
Whatever type of exhaust fan you use, make sure there is adequate intake air to replace
what is being drawn out.
Otherwise, you'll create a negative pressure (like a vacuum) in your home which will prevent the chimney from doing its job and fill your home with carbon monoxide when the boiler or water heater is running.
That would be bad.
You are right to ask for consultation with an engineer or HVAC Professional.
Posted by: Master Plvmber at April 9, 2008 5:43 PM
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