Whole House Fan Cost: Is the Energy Savings Worth It?

I’ve been intrigued for some time by the concept of cooling a home with a whole house fan.

Now that I own a home with no air conditioning, I’ve installed a whole house fan of my own, and I must say I’ve become quite the fan of the product. Pun intended.

There are certain times a year that a whole house fan won’t do you much good, but if you live in a place where the days are warm and the overnight low temperatures drop into the 60s or below at some point in the year, which is true nearly everywhere in North America, your house may very well be a good candidate for a whole house fan, a money-saving, electricity-sparing wonder of an appliance.

Why I Purchased a Whole House Fan

We recently bought a 1960s home with no air conditioning (A/C). In northern Michigan, it’s not as uncommon as you might think to have a house without A/C.

Furthermore, the home we purchased has no air ducts or ventilation system of any kind. The heat comes from baseboard units throughout the perimeter of the home, all of which are fed by a boiler. There’s no forced air furnace.

How a Whole House Fan Works

The original whole house fan design was a metal box that sat between your ceiling joists that separate your living space from your attic. The metal box contained a fan or two that were situated just above a hole cut in your celing, which was covered by a decorative grille.

Where and When to Use a Whole House Fan

Depending on where you live, a whole house fan will make sense to use at certain times a year. In northern climates, you’ll likely use it all summer long, and perhaps in the late spring and early fall.

If you live in an area where it doesn’t get cool enough at night in the summer to entice you to invite that cool outdoor air in, you might only use it in the spring and fall when the days are warm but the nights are reasonably cool.

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