A Whole House Fan Is More Cost Effective Than You Might Think
When it comes to cooling systems, most homeowners believe that an air condition system is the best and only practical way to keep the temperature down. While AC units perform a much-needed service, they are not the only cooling system you can use in your house.
ACs also require regular maintenance and are very expensive to replace (roughly every 10 - 15 years). The other problem with an AC unit is that it misses cooling down the attic. That is where a whole house fan comes into play. Whole house fans bring cool air into the entirety of your house, which leads to savings all year long.
Read on to learn more about how a whole house fan can help you save.
What Is a Whole House Fan?
A whole house fan is a system that is installed by an electrical contractor in your attic. The fans pull cooler air from outside, often at night, into your home. The system uses very little electricity and helps cool the entire house, including the attic. One of the most popular houses fan systems comes from QuietCool. This brand tops the list of best systems because its options are flexible, powerful, and produce almost no noise. You can even have a system installed with remote controls or WiFi access.
How Does a Whole House Fan Work?
A whole house attic fan creates negative pressure to bring cool air into your home. All you have to do is open a few windows in your home a couple of inches anytime it is cooler outside than it is inside, like in the morning or at night. When the fan turns on, it pulls air through the open windows, bringing cool, fresh air into the house.
As negative pressure builds in the house,
positive pressure is created in the attic. This pressure forces air out of the soffits in your eaves or through other vents installed in the attic. The end result is a cooler home, especially the rooms with an open windows.
What Are the Benefits of Whole House Fans?
A house fan system is not meant to necessarily replace your air conditioning unit, but it can work alongside it to keep your house comfortable. Once your whole house fan installation is complete, you will reap several benefits.
- They offer almost immediate relief from the heat. Cool air is instantly brought in through open windows, creating a pleasant breeze immediately after the system is activated.
- They are more energy efficient than other major cooling systems.
- No need for refrigerants or other elements that are bad for the environment
- The constant circulation created by this system also helps keep the air in your house fresh by removing odors from cooking, pets, smoke, and more.
- They run quietly and last for many years.
How Much Does a Whole House Fan Cost?
With the rising costs of AC maintenance and installation, many homeowners imagine that something as impactful as a whole house fan would also come with a hefty price tag. The reality is that one of these systems is relatively affordable.
Whole house fans often range between $500 and $2,000, depending on the size and type of the system. Two significant factors determine which size system you need. The first is your geographical location. If you happen to live in a cooler region, you can get away with a smaller unit. Those in drier, more desert areas may have to go with a more extensive system to help combat the heat. The other thing to consider is the ceiling height in your home. If your ceilings are higher than eight feet, you may need a larger system to account for the increased air volume.
On top of the cost of the unit, you will also want to hire the appropriate electricians to handle the installation. This cost depends on various factors: the unit you purchase, the difficulty of installation if additional electrical lines need to be added, and more. You should expect to pay between $500 and $1000 for a straightforward installation, but this cost could vary.
Calculating the correct system is a complicated process, so make sure to contact a licensed electrician to help determine your needs and get a realistic quote.
How Can I Save Money With a Whole House Fan?
While the purchase and installation prices associated with adding a house fan to your home are exponentially less than replacing an AC unit, it is still a sizeable investment. When determining if a fan system is suitable for your home, you must also consider the potential savings.
Look at what a typical AC unit costs to cool a 1,200 square-foot home adequately. A standard system for this size home is a three-ton unit that uses 3500 watts. The average cost of electricity in California is $0.25 watts per hour. We can multiply the price ($0.25) by the AC’s usage (3.5 kWh) to get the cost to run an AC system per hour: $0.875.
If you run your AC during the day only, say 10 hours, it costs $8.75 per day, $61.25 per week, and $262.50 per month. Those numbers change the more or less you use your AC. Of course, other factors impact how your unit runs, like outside temperatures, the size of your house, the age of the systems, etc.
With a whole house fan, you can actually reduce your AC bill. The fan brings in cooler air from the outside, so the AC does not have to work as hard. There will be plenty of times that you will not even need to run your AC at all. A QuietCool fan will save 50% to 90% of the typical cost of running your AC. When AC can cost as much as $262.50 per month, you could pay as little as 131.25 with just a 50% savings.
Are Whole House Fans Worth It?
A whole house attic fan is a tremendous investment, especially with a top-of-the-line QuietCool system. On top of enjoying a gentle breeze of fresh air, you will experience incredible savings on your monthly electric bill. While these systems are not meant to handle all of your cooling needs, they complement existing AC units wonderfully.
If you are in Gilroy, CA, or the surrounding areas of Santa Clara County, contact Watson’s Charging Stations & Electric to explore your whole house fan options. We are an officially certified installer for QuietCool systems and can handle any of your electric needs. Stop sweating about your AC bill, and let us give you a free quote for a whole house fan system today.