Part of the EcoGeek home-improvement guide from A. Siegel.
Bit by bit, I'm EcoGeeking out my 1950s home. First the SEER16+ HVAC, then the light tubes into my laundry room, and now, the AirScape Whole House Fan (WHF).
Since I bought my home a decade ago, I'd been plagued by my old-style whole house fan (WHF). However old it might have been, this vertical fan sort of moved air (well, if I closed all but one or two windows), was an eyesore coming down stairs (a large dusty grid facing me), and was quite annoying when it came to changing weather (climbing into the attic to move the cumbersome homemade insulation into place). The fan was there and often used (we really wanted to cut our energy use) but certainly wasn't the favorite part of the house.
Well, along comes the energy audit and, even with that insulating system in place, the house fan ranked up there in terms of leaks out of the house. Another strike against this aging fan. Up to four strikes? Okay, time to finally get it out.
While we now have that SEER16+ air conditioning system, the preference is to turn it on as little as possible. Thus, with opportunity in front of me, the search was on for a new WHF that would meet my efforts to foster an Energy Smart house. After a long search, I became convinced that the AirScape was the best option and ordered one. Well, I didn't have a chance to see one before ordering and didn't have a friend with one, so this was done with some trepidation. The results, almost three months in, suggest that concerns were unfounded.
Installation was extremely straightforward, one of the easiest DIY projects that I've encountered, probably manageable even without the instructions. The look is a major improvement. No longer is there a dusty large grill in my face every time I descend the stairs. Instead, there is a (smaller) grill overhead.
Noise levels have definitely fallen. The AirScape has four high-efficiency fans, rather than that old fan.
Cooling power is great. I can have low power to cool through the night or power up stronger when starting up.
But what is my real EcoGeek favorite element of the AirScape? What do I make sure to show visitors to the house? Actually, to make them listen to?
The whine at fan start-up and stop.
What, the whine? Why is that matter?
The AirScape comes with automatic insulating doors, with actuator-driven system for both opening and closing. Thus, the whine. No longer do I need to climb in and out of the attic just for fan insulation issues. (YEAH!!!) And the seal is tight enough to eliminate that air leak issue.
The only problem: I live in the DC area (read: HUMID!!). A WHF is a wonderful thing for helping a home feel more comfortable but does nothing about that humidity. Even so, since having the AirScape, the household air conditioning hours have fallen easily by 75%. That is an energy savings that I'm glad to be taking to the bank.
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written by James, October 31, 2007
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written by P, October 31, 2007
just wondering... it seems like wherever one goes in the US the ventilation systems are based on active movement of air. In Europe, water based radiators and passive air ventilation is much more common.
In my experience, air based heating needs to be active all the time to work - when it's turned off it gets cold really fast - whereas water based radiators conserve the heat in the system and also create a much more even temperature...
Why go for air based in areas where the summers aren't really so hot that you need active cooling?
Am I missing something here?
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written by Michael Pereckas, October 31, 2007
On another note, I'm not sure how general my limited observations are, but in the US where I live it is very common for multi-tennant buildings to have windows on only one side of a unit, even in the case of, for example, the one I live in, where every unit is a corner unit and could have windows on two sides for better passive ventilation. You need to set up fans. Three out of three places I stayed while on vacation in Germany had full natural cross-ventilation, windows on opposite sides.
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written by JP, October 31, 2007
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written by A Siegel ., October 31, 2007
2. Part of path is 'strategy'. Fan on at night, pulling in cooler air/cooling house. Shades over windows to reduce sun. Perhaps, if someone is home, air conditioning might become required mid/late afternoon (to cut humidity and slightly reduce temperature). Since having the fan, very few occasions of 24 hour air conditioning.
3. To be clear, we are talking about WHFs rather than attic fans.
4. Good points re US vs Europe, and support point about insulation / air leaks. If there is bad insulation and significant air leakage, you're wasting power no matter the heating path. (And, well, I prefer -- for comfort and energy efficiency reasons -- radiant systems over forced air, but that is another issue.)
4. Interesting point about 'natural ventilation'. When conditions are windy/windier, the house fan generally is not required. But, my home at least, there is not always enough natural air flow to rely on nature. (But, to be clear, the fan is not on 24/7/365.)
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written by Vin, October 31, 2007
Also cools the roof for longer life and much less (or no) heat radiating from above, a big plus.
Use at night is common when it is cooler, best to pull air from low on the house where it is coolest. We live in MI w/o AC and do fine.
Thanks for the info we may change out our old fan also. Looks like a nice design depending on cost.
Although we are able to pull a glued stack of TuffR foam board over the hole on ours from thru the fan by hand at the start of the winter with foam seals around the edge.
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written by A Siegel ., November 01, 2007
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