Attic fans and whole house fans are two commonly used devices to fasten the circulation of indoor air.
Attic fan is adopted mainly for lowering the high temperature of attic, while whole house fan is responsible for cooling down hot weather of whole living places.
Both of two fans can work perfectly if used in proper situations.
So what exactly difference do they have?
How to choose between the two types?
Go on reading, you will find your answer.
Benefits of Using Attic Fans
- Easy to install
- Quite cheap for whole installation costs and using costs
- Prevent moist air from getting into rooms in winter
- Electric fans are forbidden in some areas
- High efficiency in hot days
- Lower down temperature on attics
Drawbacks of Using Attic Fans
- Easily cause drawback of carbon monoxide
- Low cost-efficient
- Cool down living spaces in one hour
Why Choosing Whole House Fan?
- Cool down interior temperature
- High efficiency in cold days
Cons of Whole House Fan
- Loud noise
- Difficult to install
- A bit expensive for installation costs and using costs
- Loss of heat on cold days
Attic Fans vs. Whole House Fans
Installation spots
- Attic Fans.
Attic fans are normally gable mounted or roof mounted, thus you can either install it in the existing gable vent for garage or greenhouse use, or place it on the roof to cool down the temperature on the roof.
In mid-summer, the attic will be extremely hot because of long term sunburn, the hot temperature will affect the life span of the house component, what the most important is that it causes high temperatures for living spaces.
Especially when you are living in a two-story house, the top room can be hard to bear.
Through the operating of the attic fan, the temperature of the roof will be lowered down effectively.
- Whole House Fans.
Whole house fans, quite the same as attic fans, are installed on the ceiling. However, they are used mainly for pushing interior hot air out and make you feel cool in living space.
However, it can not work perfectly alone, you need to keep windows open or rely on a central air conditioner. It works brilliantly especially when the outdoor temperature is higher than the indoor temperature.
Installation difficulty
Attic fans are quite easy to install because of their small sizes when you have an existing vent, it becomes even easier. However, for solar attic fans, you need also to get a solar panel.
Both the two fans need to be installed by professionals if you lack enough knowledge. They need electricians to wire the new fan.
Price/Using Costs
For attic fans, you can get the best one at $80-$400, each with different performance and sizes. If counted on installation costs, the whole costs reach approximately $350 to $800.
On the other hand, buying the best whole house fan takes about $150-$550. Its installation costs are much higher, the whole costs reach from $300-$1400.
Effective Usage
- Attic Fans.
Attic fans work best on the hot days, for it cools down roof temperature effectively in summer.
However, you can also use it in winter. In cold weather, moist air causes great damage to roof components and also be bad for living places. Once operating your attic fans in winter, it expels moist air on the roof out.
- Whole House Fans.
Whole house fans need to be used along with windows or air conditioners. On cool days such as falls or spring, you will find it super effective.
Energy Efficiency
In the early days, most people believe that attic fans can be quite energy efficient because average attic fans draw only 300 watts. However, some experts claim that there is no evidence to prove it to be highly energy efficient.
With the expansion of the debate, many states have forbidden the use of electric fans. Such as in the 2009 Energy Conservation Code, the state of Georgia determined that electric fans are not cost-saving devices, and thus banned the use.
Therefore, if you are concern mostly about energy efficiency, whole house fans can be a perfect choice. They draw 200-700 watt with different sizes and specifications. For long term use, you will find using whole house fan can be 90% less cheap on using costs compared with air conditioning units.
As an energy-efficient cooling device, you should also guarantee the sealing of the whole house fans in installation. If under bad sealing conditions, cold air gets into the house easily and causes loss of hot temperature on cold days.