We are all experiencing it. At the end of another 90-degree day in the Bay Area, our houses get hot just as we come home to have dinner and relax. If we have air conditioning, it goes into top gear to move the heat outside. If we don’t have AC, we wait for the outside temperature to drop below the inside temperature, and open all the windows and turn on all the fans to try to draw in cooler air.
A highly economical solution to this battle with the heat is to install a whole house fan.
Whole House Fans Help Beat Bay Area Heat Waves
If you want to keep your Bay Area home cool without installing a new air conditioner, a whole house fan might be a good alternative. While they do not cool your home in the same way that an air conditioner can, whole house fans can economically help keep your home feeling comfortable in warm weather. It’s also relatively easy to convert home ventilation systems to make use of these fans, so you don’t have to worry about breaking the bank when installing one.
How Do Whole House Fans Work?
Whole house fans work by drawing hot air from inside the house and expelling it through the attic, or directly outside for homes without attics. These are powerful fans that quickly circulate warm air out, drawing cooler air in from the outside via open windows.
A well-installed fan can greatly improve the ventilation in and through the attic, cooling your home faster at the end of a hot day. By installing an intake duct to pull air from your attic, you can use a whole house fan to direct this air into your home’s heating and cooling ducts. When this kind of HVAC system is combined with well-placed ceiling fans, you can keep your home cool and comfortable even during a hot East Bay summer season. Plus, by complementing the work of your central air conditioner, you can save money on air conditioning energy bills because the AC unit doesn’t have to work as hard.
As useful as whole house fans can be for most homes in Oakland and the East Bay area, they can be noisy when they aren’t installed properly. As a rule, a large-capacity fan operating at a lower speed will be less noisy than a smaller fan that needs to be on a faster setting. You might not need a larger fan if you have a smaller home, but a larger fan might be a better option if you or your family are sensitive to noise. In any case, any whole house fan that you install should be equipped with rubber or felt gaskets to dampen noise.
In general, a whole house fan can provide a great way to keep your home cool and comfortable in the summer months.
Whole House Fans for Bay Area Homes from Element Home Solutions
Many homes in the Bay Area can benefit from the cooling impact of a whole house fan on warm days. To learn more about getting a whole house fan installed in your home, contact Element Home Solutions today.
