OT- Anyone Have one of these?

[bubba]

I want to install a whole house exhaust fan in my ranch. The A/C bills are crazy and my house doesn't cool well with the windows open (wind blows on the side of the house with no windows)... I've been reading about these mini fans that can cool the whole house and they are supposed to be quiet and move lots of air.. I'm looking at the AirScape system.. Its pricey, but for the size, appearance and sound, I think it worth it. I haven't been able to find a good price other than whats listed on their site.. Not even Fleabay..

http://www.airscapefans.com/products/whf17

[Larry]

Ken,

I don't know about that particular fan, but when I was groing up we had one air conditioner in a pretty big house.  It only cooled the dinning room.  The rest of the house was sweltering.  My dad installed ceiling fans and that was a bit better, but not really anything significant.

Then one year he cut a hole in our hallway and installed this large fan which blew up into the attic and was vented out of an open window.  Man, what a difference.  The whole house cooled down within minutes.  Then you could adjust the speed lower while you slept and it produced a nice comfortable breeze throughout the night.  What a lifesaver that was.

Larry

[mznb1u]

I don't know about specific products but I will have to agree with Larry!

I have been in houses with whole house fans that vent through the attic or a gable vent and they make a tremendous difference in comfort on hot summer nights.  Just keeping the air moving is wonderful.

Another option would be to crank down the thermostats on the soda machines and leave the doors open! 

With the direction that my Edison bills have been heading, I don't think I will be firing up my AC much this year either!

  Tim

[loman4ec]

We had a whole house fan in the house I grew up in back in Xenia Ohio. It was very nice. Ours was loud though. It was in the hallway right in the middle of the house. It always kept the air moving in the house.

[Creighton]

Ken,
That should work well. Any chance you can add windows to get a breeze? Some places a swamp cooler helps.
Creighton

[bubba]

My parents house had a 36" fan in the side of the house and we used to pull down the attic staircase for ventilation. That cooled the house down great. That is what got me started on this. Unfortunately, the side without windows doesn't have space for one. 1/2 the side is the garage, and the other 1/2 is a fireplace with my TV on the wall and custom bookcases on the walls around it. Just no way to do it.

I personally don't like the big vent in the ceiling so thats why I never looked into the fans. My neighbor has one of the big fans and they barely use the A/C at night. Its time to do it. I was going to put one of the big ones in, but it would be right over the bedrooms and I don't feel like listening to it at night. This unit will be mounted away from the bedrooms and should be relatively quiet.

I also have ceiling fans in 4 rooms which I use, but it still doesn't draw enough outside air.

This was the other one I looked at, http://www.wholehousefan.com/PRODUCTS/HV1600-GR.html but I think I'm going to give the AirScape a try...