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Cheap Homemade Whole House Fan - How To Cool Without A/C !!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ก.ค. 2013
- How to make an inexpensive whole house attic fan using an old box fan and a piece of plywood. Reduce the electricity costs by giving the air conditioner a break. Quick and easy.
*Love this unit! Using upstairs in my sons bedroom **Fastly.Cool** and he’s finally able to be comfortable upstairs without me freezing downstairs. Works for more sqft than expected!*
Ingenuity at it best! I saw this video years ago and now that we're going through a heatwave I'm finally going to do it. It's funny how you see a video like this and remember it for years and then finally do it🤗
this guy is just the right amount of crazy
haha thanks
Edward Reyes Bravo JG! Regardless what anyone could ever say. Look at it this way, there are many people who rent houses and if they ask the landlord if they my install a whole house fan.... and if the answer is no.... then this is the best solution hands down. Thanks again - regards
Jennies Garage, Thank you on behalf of those who are serious and appreciate your concern for others comfort. Good job. It works.
He's more like "Coo Coo for CoCo Puffs!"
@@MYSPOTZ007 Iknow a few landlords who might not be too keen on seeing a massive hole cut in their ceiling
We grew up with "whole house fans" built into our "old" houses: they worked VERY well, especially at night if the AC unit went out, my dad would turn it on- it was loud- but we would crack a few windows opposite ends of house and it would create a suction through home, up into the fan and out the ceiling. The fan was huge, way bigger than our box fans today.. we need to remake this idea and have built into all our NEW houses!! (our access to the fan with in the middle of the home, in the hallway- it sucked air from generally all the house that way because it was centrally located- it was so strong, you could stand under it and feel like you are under beach winds!). You had to have the windows only cracked partially, or would lose the "suction" that made the draft.
Here is a guy with the right idea!!!!!!!! THanks!
Thanks so much. It's true that just switching on the ac is not the only way to cool a home. I say it makes great sense if you can grab some of the cool night air and suck it into the house to help with the next day's cooling.
Yeah, the old "whole house fans" (or as we called them "attic fans") that we had back then were quite a bit larger than a box fan. They were usually larger than what a modern pull-down attic stairway takes up. The attic access panel was in the hallway and the fans were as wide as the hallway -- probably 36-42" or so in diameter, I guess. They had a louver system on them so that when you turned them on, the louvers would open up. The electric motor turned a fan belt when was hooked to a pulley on the actual fan blade shaft. I suspect that the electric motor was somewhere around 1 hp. To get in the attic, you had to climb a ladder, push up on the fan and move it off to the side. If I was doing it these days, I would just install it separate from the attic access opening so it would not be necessary to move it when going into the attic. Where I live now, whole house fans would not be that great. It's often still in the 90Fs outside at 9pm. Plus, even when it does get down into the mid-70Fs, the humidity is so bad that it would be uncomfortable to sleep in that condition. I'll just stick with my air-conditioner. If I ever got so poor that I could afford to cool my entire house, I would just put a window unit in the bedroom and live out of there. Actually, when we have power outages from hurricanes and I have to run my house off a generator, that is exactly what I do. I can keep the master bedroom and master bath at around 70F with just a window unit while also providing electricity for the rest of the house (except for the central air-conditioning unit).
Grumpy OldMan THanks - thats what I remember- those louvers would open up- IF we ever get to build again, I will save your description and have one put it- and yea, it must have been as wide as hallway- that makes sense. We had a separate attic access from the garage and my dad would walk over to where the fan was- no access there..it was a one story ranch. .We were in Houston, and the humidity was horrible- the fan was used ONLY in emergencies- I can't imagine having to use all the time-like the original owners must have done years before my family. ... plus the safety factor of having open windows- yea, we want our AC - but a big good one, built right would pull the temp down enough to sleep at night for us, even in the humidity. It would be good during hurricane if could be hooked up to a generator.
InLaws Attic I live in the Houston area and I suspect that if it wasn't for air-conditioning, there would be a lot less people living here.
Agree!
I've used a setup like this for about 20 years now. Fortunately, the attic access is in the hallway, near the middle of my house. I mounted the fan on the *_underside_* of the insert panel, so it hangs a bit below the ceiling and the fan control switch is accessible by getting up on a step-stool or by reaching up with a bamboo back scratcher. The fan is plugged into an outlet with a programmable lamp timer in the attic to switch it on at 7 p.m. and turn it off around 8 a.m., so there is no power cord hanging down. I usually run it on the lowest speed all summer long, but since the control switch is accessible, it's easy to select a higher speed when needed. Even though the house has central air heating and cooling, I've rarely used the cooling, and the fan only costs $2-$4 in electricity per month. When the weather gets cold in the late fall and I want to use the furnace, the fan gets shoved into the attic for the winter (remembering to turn it off or unplug it first!) and the solid panel gets dropped into the opening to prevent warm air from escaping through the attic.
The first fan lasted about 15 years until the bearings seized, so I'm on the second breeze-box fan now. Better fans have holes for adding oil to the motor bushings, which can extend their useful life.
Panamint Joe Smith Thanks a lot for the comment, it's great to hear from someone who has used the method for a while. That timer is a superb idea. I think I'll implement that into my setup. I think the cost of $20 for the fan (that lasted 15 years) and $3 per month in electricity is about the most economical cooling possible!
What is the square footage of your house though? And what temperature is the house the majority of the time? I personally can't handle anything about 75 degrees F inside a house.
+Amanda How - My house is about 1200 square feet. On summer days the inside temperature can creep up to 80°F by sundown. By 10 p.m. the outside temperature usually drops into the 47°F to 53°F range.and it possible to get the inside temperature down to the high 50s or low 60s by the time the fan timer shuts off next morning. During heat waves the air doesn't cool off so much at night and every day the minimum inside temperature tends to ratchet up a degree or two from the day before, but since heat waves only last 4-6 days, I put up with it.
The would work fine for living room and hallways....but....how about bedrooms?.... peaple wants privacy, so they keep doors closed, and I can't see any air flow going there !
+Ramon Alvarado - Your mileage may vary, as the saying goes. I live alone, so I have all the privacy I want, whether the bedroom door is open or closed. ;)
You my friend have to be one of the most underrated TH-camrs on this platform. You should at least have a million subscribers. People just don't know good quality content when they see it.
I live in a 2 story 2500 sq/ft house. I haven't ran my a/c in 9 years . I've got fans 2 downstairs and 2 upstairs .The 2 downstairs blow in and the 2 upstairs blow out all day.I figured out if I keep the air moving during the day its easier to keep it cool. I also heat with woodstoves . The gas company came to "TEST" my meter .lol I just told the guy to take it with him lol. I can't wait til I can tell the Electric Company the same thing lol. Very nice video . Wish you the best.
+N.C Kayak King Mine just decided to drive away with the tank when I was at work lol Im not missing it.
N.C Kayak King must be an epic feeling to be able to tell them that lol
You mentioned you have the fans running all day, do you also have them on the whole night as well? My ac is not blowing cool air so now I'm trying out box fans. I live in a 2 story too.
+ N.C Kayak King Also, how much cool does it get with that method of having two blowing in downstairs and two blowing out up stairs?
I wanna do this but my ball and chain keeps making fun of me😔
I did this for about 15 years with the same box fan. I finally installed a real fan (280 watts at low speed). It was a tremendous increase in air flow. This approach works as long as the outside humidity is not too high. Pulling in cool humid air is not very comfortable but does lower the temperature. I have central air but use the whole house fan when ever the night time temperatures are expected to fall to the low 60s.
I been doing the same thing as the video for 8 years. I opted for a high velocity 21 inch Lakewood fan. Got it on sale for $60. On high she put out about 7,000 CFM (Cubic Feet Per Minute). The fan in the video puts out about 1,200 to 1,500 CFM.
I saw on line that a whole house fan at Lowe's only put out 3,500 CFM and was $350. Now that fan will probably last longer though.
My 21 inch Lakewood was just wide enough to sit on the rafters without any need for extra support. She lasted 8 years of using her for about 10 hours a day on high during the late spring through summer. Super loud on high but worth it. I had her on a timer to shut off at about 8 AM.
I also usually had a few 20 in box fans in a few windows to blow cool air from outside to inside so the big Lakewood wouldn't have to work so hard.
If I can get my house down to 65 degrees even on a 100 degree day my inside temp only gets up to 80 to 82 degrees at about 5:30 PM.
On those nights I know it isn't going to get cool enough I have my air conditioner set to come on at 5 AM and run for 45 minutes to cool the house down to 65. Before I go to bed I shut off the fans and close all the windows and shut the attic access.
My father invented this years ago at our home in LaCanadaFlintridge, CA near Pasadena. It worked great, because the nights are always cool. I moved and have a swamp cooler which was yucky so i disabled it. I will take your advise. and get a large fan and make a plywood base...PERFECT VIDEO...THANK YOU SO MUCH.
This is a great idea, especially for those of us who live in the uk where you are considered to be mentally unstable for buying an a/c unit, but still think they are great. This is a better overall alternative. Great video.
NordicSnow Thanks for the comment, glad you enjoyed the video. People here think I'm mentally unstable for not using the A/C :)
I did this same thing, except I built a frame for my upstairs windows that I mounted my box fan onto (because I do not have an attic). So at night I crack the windows on my lower floor and turn this fan on with the stairway door open from the main floor to the upper floor. Before the Sun comes up in the morning the house is about 64 degrees F. I then close the door to the upper level (floor) of the house and leave the fan on with the window on the other side of that upper level open to create a cross breeze on that upper level to try and keep it as cool as possible because it gets very hot up there since the roof is just a few inches on the other side of it (it's a slanted style room). Doing this even when it's 90 degrees F here in Michigan the house only gets up to about 73 degrees F by the time I get home at 5pm. So that is really not bad at all!!
Thought I would share my success story here! :)
thanks for the comment. Although it isn't as comfortable or easy as AC, the cost savings make it worthwhile in my opinion
So 9 years later, how's it working? (Great video and thanks for posting it so long ago!)
@jenniesgarage we need an update! Overall just wondering how well it worked, even if not in use now. Update the video description with it 🙂
Out of all the crazy video's on here most which don't work or aren't very effective. This does work!!!! I made some window fans for the bedroom I have been using them for the last 2 years. I am able to sleep much better now. Many thanks.
Dew point (humidity) is a consideration too. It's more comfortable to have a warmer temp and lower dew point than vice versa so sometimes it's unavoidable running either or both the A/C and a dehumidifier. But this is a great idea when the dew point is low.
I saw somewhere that in India, they use 2L pop bottles, cut the bottom out, mount them on a wooden board, cut open the cap, and install over opened window, as the hot air from the outside is forced through the smaller hole, the air is naturally cooled. So, combining that with your design, you could have a cooler house even when it is boiling hot outside.
I've used this concept for my room in the UK. Instead of attic, I have a 20 inch high velocity fan (120 watt) facing outwards on the right side window. My blinds then has a slight 'push' force towards the room, telling me that outside air is getting in. Then on the left side window I use a normal desk fan to distribute the air throughout the room. My door remains closed, however if I do open my door, I do get that ribbon effect you shown here.
For this to work however, I noticed that just 1 degree difference from inside and outside does not really make a difference, however it does start to work well when there is atleast 3 degrees difference (in Celsius). The only catch is that it is loud, however you also don't need to run the fan all night.
If you have a 2 storey house, I suspect you'll need a very powerful fan, or multiple box fans to create a 'vacuum' effect. You also need to restrict where 'air' enters and exits
Hey man, I did this and it worked flabbergastingly well, as soon as I plugged in the fan I felt the draw of air, and I mean immediately. This is only a temporary fix, but exhausting the house air will surely be part of the final solution. Kudos. Thanks for the brain nudge.
I made one of these for my friend. He said it cooled his whole apartment. Not just his unit but the other three as well. They share an attic.
$14 fan on low kept his apartment much cooler. cooled off faster at night.
I'm glad it worked for him, and now he has some happy neighbors!
Things you can do within your house when you're single.
As soon as you introduce this to your wife she is leaving.....
Who Do you Think is Holding the Camera?
she will stay when he gives her the money he saved on his heating & cooling bill
SethiKinsGaming - She's collecting evidence for the divorce.
This comment is gold lol 😂
we laughed when watching this.... esp when you stepped on a cat @ 0:10! An hour later our box fan was blowing hot air up and out of our attic. Our goal was to get our AC up to the 2nd floor, it worked perfectly. Our 2nd story is always 10+ degrees warmer with the AC on. The fan pulled the cooler air up (and out of the upstairs vents) and both floors were the same temperature.
I lived n the Sierra Foothills of California where it gets really really hot in the summer. It does cool down nicely at night though. I put solar shades on all the western facing windows, and installed an attic fan. I would run the fan at night, leaving my bedroom window open, and it was like having the A/C turned on because it made a nice cool breeze as it pulled the air in. In the morning, I might have the house down to 65 degrees or lower. Then I'd close all the windows, pull all the drapes, and leave them closed all day. I also had double-pane windows, which helped. The house would stay cool (under 78 degrees) until maybe 3 or 4 in the afternoon. Then I'd use a regular floor fan to get through the next three or four hours until the sun went down. As soon as the sun went down, I opened a window and turned on the attic fan. I got through the hellish summers without once turning on the A/C. I really recommend an attic fan if you live somewhere where the temps drop down after the sun goes down. It makes all the difference.
Great job bud!!!!, I'm going to do it also because my house has cathedral ceilings and it gets pretty nasty upstairs!
Awesome Idea! you might also put the fan on a timer, so that it turns on when it cools down outside, and off when it warms up again. or a thermostat or even a photo eye outside somewhere to detect when it gets dark.
Great to see a DIY version of the 'Whole House Fan' at last, after all the advice I had saying you needed a purpose built one (an attic fan is something entirely different!)
You can also put fans in open windows to suck cool air into the house. Then leave the attic hatch open for the hot air to go into the attic. Same idea, just you're pushing air in instead of sucking it out and there's no build involved. I taped a bit of plastic from a grocery bag to the attic opening and it works.
This method does work to a degree. However, the most effective system is to have an additional fan sucking cool air inward, thus creating a cross breeze ventilation. The advantage of ac is that it removes moisture from air, which this system does not.
I just did this same exact thing...then ran across your video. Hilarious! But also, very effective. I'm also using an old box fan but have not even built a surround for it...Just suspended it in the attic opening and put old shirts around it to prevent front to back coupling. The only negative is the CFM from these old box fans...so I bought a new 3250 CFM air king...it's going to shred!
Great video and thanks for sharing
All I do, following this same principle, is that I open two opposite windows of my house (as far apart as possible) and I stick a fan on one of them blowing out. Of course, all other windows are closed. By the evening, our bedroom is nice and cool. Too bad I don't have an addict so that I could blow the hot air into the house during the winter!
I have the same setup in my hallway but rather than run the fan on high to create active airflow I run it on low as a means of venting stale, hot air. This keeps the living space comfortable enough, even in Texas, to get by with a few ceiling fans. My highest electric bill in summer of 2015 was $65, no lie.
Growing up in the late 50s that is all we had, one huge fan in the window blowing outward while the air rushed inward from any other open window. Worked pretty well, especially at night.
Decades later I lived in an apt with an attic access in my closet and had the same idea about putting a fan up there instead of in a window. It worked ok but before I knew it my apartment was overrun with those huge outdoor roaches that had made their way into the attic. It took months after closing off the attic to get rid of all of them as they had layed eggs everywhere. What a mess.
Love your profile pic bro
the ventilation caused the roach infestation?
St8kout well your family in the 50s must of been broke my grandfather had AC units in the house they were the size of small cars tho
I have a simple enough system. I draw air from an always shaded window/s and exhaust it on the other end of the house. I use a big metal Air King reversible window fan on the exhaust end with high cfm rating. It draws enough air I have to blow dust out of the intake window screen often to keep it all flowing easy. I can run several fans lots cheaper than any single air con I ever owned. My way can be harder when there are others living here closing doors and such but living alone I can set it up any way I see fit.
that's a perfect spot to smoke out...
Great Idea! I've seen similar designs in North Carolina that work very well. One fan was the size of a full grown man and cools the house off from 95 degrees to about 65 degrees in less than half an hour.
Wow that sounds like a serious fan!!
Sorry No freaking way. It Would have to be very cool outside to get to 65 degrees let alone do it in a half hour.
dude, you cannot ventilate a whole house with a freaking 20" box fan with a 1/25HP 80 watt motor!. try a 36" fan with a 1/2HP 600-700 watt motor instead.
Lol, no dude. Let Photonicinduction to power that fan at at least 3-4 kW
james that sounds like turn your hvac fan to fan mode. that is 1/2 hp fan.
@@tzarius78
Yes but that would only recirc
But he did...
at this point get a 2000cfm stove fan
yes sir, I have done this 10 years ago but going to try it again and was searching for some inspiration. I am rarely home these days and plan to get some good window coverings and run this at night while opening all windows.
One other thing I forgot to mention. You need to have a window cracked when you run the fan otherwise it will pull air from the path of least resistance. Usually this is a chimney or the flue where a gas hot water heater is vented. Most gas hot water heaters have a pilot which is a steady small flame that stays lit to enable the burner to light. When the air is drawn down the flue it will blow out the pilot and now you have gas being pulled through your house. You figure out the rest.
I went to Walmart last year and got me a 18 inches Optimus high velocity fan and made a special frame for safety.. . works really good! 127 deg F. and if i turn the fan on to medium setting for 15 min Attic temp drop down to 109 deg F. ( using Arlo video cam) house is 2200 sq. i also made a shutter that way small particle don't go inside my house... re wire all the way down like a hall way switch.
This may have been mentioned before, but I live in Texas and when it is 110-120 degrees outside it doesn't make sense for us to crack the windows enough to draw and circulate air from outside. If I did that I'd just be dragging very hot air into my house. I think this would work great in moderate climates if it was 80-85. Additionally, I couldn't put the fan in close because there wouldn't be enough air flow.
If you live in your own house, build a tube trench that is at a slight downward angle, about 15 to 20 ft out, 5 to 6 ft deep, and have the highest part up near the house. Put a small vent in the floor, hook the cooling tube to it, and there will then be already cooler air coming in since the Ir at 5 to 6 ft is MUCH cooler!
So basically ur making ur house cool at night when it's already cool but during the day whey it's hot? Genius!
Tthis does work , plus in winter reverse to flow and use the attic heat to warm the house!
Even easier idea - Get up early, like 4 or 5 in the morning. Open all the windows in the house and leave them open for about 1/2 hour Close the windows, draw the curtains and go about your day. DO NOT OPEN ANYTHING DURING THE DAY. When the afternoon hits, the inside of the house will be much cooler than the outside. I used to do it in my old apartment everyday. 90 outside, 60 inside. As soon as you open a window or door the house will heat up. Check it out!
Did this in my old house when the attic was converted to bedrooms. Worked nice.
The whole idea is to push the cool air up from the basement. A lot of bloody good a fan in the ceiling is going to do!!
I have a 42" attic fan or roof fan. It cools the house good enough to live during summer.
They sell attic fans and they go for $1000. This is a good idea or I am sure you can buy an inexpensive industrial fan that would move more air. It just has to be insulated in the winter in cold climates.
bg147 It'd be better to use box fans in multiple parts of the house than have just one expensive fan.
Curious to know how this turned out. Did it save you money? Was it comfortable using just the attic fan? Thanks
I've seen whole house fans and they are pretty powerful, if you ask me!
yup, got one. cools down entire 2 story house. also good if there's excessive smoke/smell throughout the house due to cooking or what not. great for hot summer nights.
@@ntnboy85 Nice! They're not really a thing here in Hong Kong probably because it's humid here most of the year, but they would be awesome during the drier months when it isn't too cold. So instead I put a fan in my bedroom window and run the kitchen hood but still nowhere near as effective as an American whole house fan :/
Had the same system in a camp I was living in but adapting it in my present home never came to mind ,thanks for sharing and hope to see more of you in the future .
Thanks for checking in, glad you liked the video!
When he says “tidy police” you know he is thinking of their names in his head 😂
That was awesome. I live in southern california, and ac is so expensive! I can't wait to do this and see if it works. Thanks so much for this. You Rock!
larkatmic Glad you liked the video, If you get it all set up now you can hit the ground running when the temps go up!
I'm also in socal. Did you try it? How'd it go?
Good luck circulating hot souther California air > 100°. Go get into your car, turn the heat in around 82°, and hit the circulate button. Try to sleep in that shit.
This is basically a whole house fan.( Nice try though)........But here's how you do it.
find the area of you house--L*W*H= x.......times air changes 20 to 30 air changes....divided by 60 minutes = CFM needed for air changes. Now,in the attic you must alter the attic gables opening 1 square foot for every 750 CFM added.
Note not effective in humid climates ( actually bad moisture ) dry climates good.
Remember: you attic hold heat I've see 170 degrees easy in some areas and that heat will take over your cooler home....hot air rises, but heat moves from hot to cold.
open all window.......and it will keep your home and attic cool...........Oh, use it at transition ( When cooler outside then inside)...........good stuff
Thanks for the comment, and the air change calculation.
Yeah in areas east of the rockies you will need to do something else or add a large dehumidifier. It will help you cut down on costs tho if you use it for over night cooling. A dehumidifier would probably help a lot tho.
This is more an attic fan than a whole house fan. It works by pushing the hot attic air out the gable vents and/or eve vents thus cooling the attic. It pulls outside air into the house so it does not cool the inside air below the outside air temp. To be more efficient, install a roof or gable exhaust fan that just cools the attic. Then, open the house late at night to cool with cooler evening or night outside air. Close the windows and door just as the sun starts to rise trapping the cool air inside. With the attic cooled, the house's cooler morning temp will last longer.
The goal is to keep the attic temps the same as or just above the outside air temps.
The only way to cool the inside to a lower temp than outside air is with an air conditioning system or swamp cooler. The attic fan will make it easier to cool the house with an AC system.
You run this fan ONLY at NIGHT and pulling cold air from open windows into the house and pushing out the roof vents thus cooling house and roof. You do NOT run this fan during the day.
Attic fans do not work. It is tested and proved by pros. Attic getting hot by radiant heat. It is radiating from hot roof down to ceiling. It works like radiant heater and does not affected by attic fans air movement.
"That fan means business, ladies and gentlemen" Lol.
Hey! That was gonna be my line!
🤣🤣🤣 Quote of the century!
Yeah, we also did this with an attic access in a closet. For a few seasons, we used a room fan taken off its stand, mounted on plywood with the right size hole. Worked very well, and quiet. Also used a box fan on its side for a few years. OK, but noisier and a bit less effective. It seems that being side-mounted kills these fans after a few seasons, but they're not expensive. Now using a bona-fide attic vent fan, again mounted on plywood - much more powerful, but noisier. In all cases, very good for the closet's adjacent room, cool sleeping at night, but less effective for overall cooling.
In winter, got to throw a big plastic garbage bag over the fan to keep the cold air from coming down.
Thanks for the comment. Instead of a bag, you could buy some of the thick foam they sell at craft stores and cut a piece to fit in the space.
Nice! Thinkin about doing this in my garage. I have attic access there separate from the house attic space. I can add a box fan to vent hot humid air when using my swamp cooler. It’s 110° in the garage during the day.
I'm using my cars engine and the fan of the motor, but having s little trouble getting the engine block to stay in the attic hole, any ideas?
seat belts
Disconnect the engine from the car first. Don't be embarrassed. I made the same mistake.
Pi Snoopy lmao...lmao...lol...lol
Pi Snoopy might be low on blinker fluid should have your local train engineer have a look at it
Pi Snoopy Don't put your engine in the a hole.
That box fan is awesome, you can do a lot of things with It.
Thanks for making this. I would enjoy watching a video of how much you saved using this method!
I place one fan blowing out of the house and open some of the other rooms and it brings in cool air. Thanks for your video! I MUST do this it gets extremely hot up here! THANKS!
I'm going to do the same thing in my garage. Attic stairwell to draw air in through my garage and cool my attic in the summer.
Texas heat is brutal!
Have ridgevents in my roof and it will help push that heat out.
Perhaps you could install an automated switch hooked up to a couple thermostats, once the temperature outside becomes a few degrees cooler than the inside it will turn on.
+Riley Davis or simply put an outlet timer on the power line like people do with outdoor X-mas lights... set it to turn on when it cooler and off in the day. then the only thing you have to remember to do is shut the windows and such
Kyle Gilman You have created a better idea than I. Good job.
excellent idea
Even using 2x6 construction and R60 attic insulation in interior *Alaska*, a box fan is insufficient to air out an entire house in a reasonable period of time. I've been having a box fan sucking the air out for about an hour. The temperature has only dropped a couple of degrees. That being said, a single room with a window open dropped to the outside ambient temperature within about 15 minutes.
In other words, a $20 box fan is underpowered as a whole house fan. The home despot does have a 30" insustrial fan that costs $129 that could be ducted to an attic opening and be very effective.
I used a box fan before for an attic fan. It wasnt as efficient as a real attic fan, but it got me thru in a pinch
I did this to cool my condo.. it worked great = seriously saving money is plenty fun and figuring out tricks to do it on the cheap are even better ... now in my house it still works and yesterday box fan fell over and broke a blade... so room a/c and small circle fan is running to keep the air upstairs in the babies room moving and that is keeping a 81* temp day outside here about 71 ... booya! ... still going to get another two box fans since they are only $15 a piece and are probably way more energy efficient...
I started to use this box fan idea for about 3 months now it does work but if you do not have air turbins installed on your roof getting the hot air out your attic with this idea wont work very well. If you do have air turbins on your roof just to get a idea how a fan would work in your crawl space just remove your crawl space at night open your windows and dont even put a fan there and you will feel the air coming in from the outside and the hot air escaping through the crawl space into the attic and the air turbins releasing the hot air out of the attic
+Rich gutierrez
Hey Rich. So, most attics/roofs are equipped with vents on the gable walls near the top. This probably won't be the case if one has a hip roof but in all other cases, vents on both gable wall ends should be sufficient providing they are not clogged up with bugs or wasp/hornets nests, etc. Other than that, you're right an air turbine should work great for that end goal.
I live in texas. The heat is killer. Good vid. Creative
As a firefighter, I can tell you right now this is a bad idea! Commercially available whole house (attic) fans work great and are designed to be hardwired, which provides for reduced electrical fire hazard. In addition, commercially available fans are self sealing when not in use, and default to a "closed" position during a product failure. That feature provides a fire break from occupied areas of the domicile to the attic. This fire break accomplishes several things:1. It keeps living areas of the home tenable during an attic fire, allowing occupants to escape the residence safely.2. It prevents fires in a living area from spreading to unprotected structural roof members in the attic, aiding in preserving structural integrity of the roof and preventing a collapse.3. This break can slow fire growth, allowing occupants time to escape and firefighters precious time to perform rescues and extinguish the fire.4. Limits damage to the structure by limiting fire grown, thus reducing financial burdens experienced by homeowners in the event of a fire.I urge you DO NOT DO THIS PROJECT! If you want a attic fan buy a commercially available attic fan and have it professionally installed by a licensed electrician.
Thanks for the comment. Funny you mentioned evaporative cooling. Shortly after I built the fan, I installed a swamp cooler pad in a window so that it would pull in some cold air. It works great! Search my channel for "Cool your house for 42 cents a day" :)
Attic fans work very well, but they are usually much larger.. Was a simple system that worked back in the day colls the house and and brings cool air into the attic and cools off the attic too
If you use the reverse concept of an evaporative cooler, and crack each window in each room just a bit, then it will draw evenly from all rooms.
I dont see how that is going to cool down the house. its in the walk in closet. it needs to be in the center of the living space. plus that fan is not strong enough to draw that much air. but i give the guy credit for trying.
I live in Montana. 16% humidity. My day temps are 90s and my night temps are 50s. Physics works. I do this every day in my house. I get the house as cool as I can then close everything up.
My only addition to this vid is I use windows to vent the house. an attic fan would be better
coool idea. alo tof people dont like using a/c .. especially the house all closed up. i prefer fresh air flowing through the house. i use the old lake wood fans in the windows and old box fans and the house is like a wind tunnel but great to sleep that way .. i do use a/c if the air is really sticky .. but if no humidity i use window fans
+Richard Drop I avoid using the AC as much as I can. Your idea about blasting the air through the house is a good one. Cool it down in the night so it's not so hot during the day.
i love the fresh air .. .plus ive always loved fans since i was little i always look for the old school ones and get them when i can
I used to keep a box fan in my bedroom window with air blowing inside in summer nights, and it was cooling the whole room. A tested and tried idea.
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You're a genius. Unfortunately I live in an apartment. But great inovation.
GuitarRocks360 you can get almost the same results with a two box fan's stacked in a window. depending on the size you can either get a double window fan or a single box fan works great. make sure the box fan is at the bottom.its ok to leave the top empty, this vents the hot air. use the fan to draw in the cool air from the outside. best to use this overnight or in the early morning. before the sun comes up. depending on time of year and sun exposure. you want to shut your fans down when the sun is in the window. before you leave for the day , be sure to close ALL the windows, draw ALL the curtains and shades. this will help prevent heat loss.
GuitarRocks360 I rigged a window fan for a friend who has a house with a vaulted ceiling and no usable attic. The $20 breeze-box fan was mounted on a piece of OSB that I painted to match the exterior of the house, and it gets inserted in the track of an upstairs sliding window in the late spring, then removed in the fall when it gets cool and the rainy season starts. Since the hot air naturally rises into the second story, the fan helps to get rid of it faster during the night, and a couple of screened windows downstairs are left open to allow cool air in. It works just fine.
As soon as he plugged the fan in, it got cooler at my house. It really works!
No, it doesn't. a real whole house fan is MUCH more powerful than a POS modern box fan. Please get that straight. a box fan is NOT a whole house fan.
@@r1ckastl3y86 He was telling a joke.
@@VickiTakacs. oh, ok.
yes had one of these fans once it works great. However it must be cooler out side to suck in cool air. So when the temperture drops turn it on.
robert mccully The ideal way to control the fan would be with a differential temperature controller that senses when the outside temperature drops below the inside temperature. However, I've found that a simple lamp timer works adequately, since in my area the temperature outside usually drops low enough by 7 p.m.
I live in an old 3 store building and we have ventilation shafts, and wind is automatically created without a ventilator. But it is a great idea to increase the effectiveness.
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You should get one of those remote controlled switches and just use that instead of unplugging and plugging it in. You could also use a timer but if the power goes out you're screwed. I have both analog and digital ones and both need resetting after a power failure.
If you need more cooling, do what I do. Cover all of your windows with aluminum foil. Summer heat is radiated by the light of the sun. Your house is like a closed car collecting all that solar heat. Tin foiled windows get rid of the heat before it can get in. Good luck. The attic fan is good, but solar heat will be working itself into your house all day long unless to put up that tin foil.
And if you need to mow the lawn, you can use some to make a nifty hat too!
I did something like this a few years back. The main downside is that most of the region that i lived in was also extremely dusty and this pulled in alot of dust and dirt.
as a builder for 20 years it's a shame to see that contractors don't know how to properly ventilated an attic without you having to do that. where does the heat leave the attic by the way? ridge vent, gable vent, roof vent, or a broken power vent?
In the early 1990's when Chicago IL, had the Real Bad Heat wave, I used to hose the sunny part of the house off, sometimes squirting water on the house 3 or 4 times a day
Nice idea. I've been doing the same thing for the past 5 years with one exception. My 20" box fan is in my walk-in closet in my master bedroom on the second floor where my attic access is and I only run it during cool weather such as early to mid Spring and early to mid Fall. I run it with my windows open on the first floor during the day and windows open in my bedroom at night when its even cooler. Great sleeping with the temperature hovering around 45°- 50°. During the Summer I turn on the air condition.
Connect that to a timer and build an intake fan with a window frame somewhere secure on a shaded side of the house connected to another timer synchronized with the attic fan set in increasing intervals to the time you all come home an the house will be already cool. It works very well.
Thanks for the idea!
Your welcome, let me know if you need any setup advice.
You are a Genius!!Great idea..I used a industrial fan and the method works like a charm!!.Fresh and cool air!!Thanks buddy!
Common sense clever! Good for you! I use one of those large Costco super fans in one window pushing air out, while opening all the bedroom windows to draw in cool night air. Your idea pushes that up a notch.
C0Y0TE5 thanks! I actually got a similar fan to the one you're talking about and replaced the box fan with it. Works great and much better than just using the AC
might i sugest using a bathroom extractor fan 4/10 watts as high as possible to ceiling as heat rises extracting outside if use one with venition type vents which close when fan is not running will stop mossis getting in.Now buy a solar panel l4/10 watts + small invertor to convert to a/c then when sun is out & hot will run and extract heat when not will stop.cost to run after purchase of parts zero & fully automatic-- just a thought maybee ?
how do you deal with the dust that come in to the house?
@0:08 Sounded like your cat wasn't happy with that decision 😅
Que buena idea compadre!
The secret to have an attic fan cool your house is to have at least 9ft ceilings and trees for shade around your house. Open several windows and have a LARGE purpose built attic fan installed. It will cool your house, no ac needed. Houses have to be built also with this specific cooling system in mind, like I said 9ft ceilings, also a wide major hallway with the attic fan installed in that hallway, centrally located to pull air equally from all open window, and the windows just have to be opened about 8 inches. It will have great airflow.
doesnt have to be an attic fan... i put air king or lasko 20" window fan in my house on exhaust and open a few windows on other side ...am in complete shade ...creates a nice breeze and have ceiling fans in every room ... i dont close windows to turn AC on until about 85*.... if it rains or gets humid thats another stoy ...
i turn the a/c on and cover myself with a blanket 😂
I have never understood how people complain all winter long about being cold, then as soon as summer hits, they turn their house into a freezer! Lol
This is a sound theory to suck hot air into the attic. When i lived with my parents they had a ceiling fan and it was super effective. I cracked my window at night put my feet next to the window. My window was next to the front lawn and it was even more cooler when the lawn was watered at night. :)
Good idea. Planning this ourselves. Less interest in your big toe injury. Fast forwarded to what I wanted to see.
Holehouse fan are great i leave in a tropical hot country and i place one holehouse fan i love it that was my husband idea i didnt like it a t first but is great i love it
In principle what you are trying to do is to push the blazing hot air from the attic to the outside replacing it with much cooler air that gets pulled from inside your house. So, a cooler attic in a summer day means less heat to be transferred to the house thru the ceiling right?
In reality, the fan is drawing air from the house depressurizing your living space which causes all kind of problems even (and even more so) with your air conditioning turned off.
The air in your living space will be replaced with air with increased humidity levels. The created negative pressures in combustion appliances can cause back drafting of flue gasses such as carbon monoxide in the living space.
In order for the fan to work the air needs to come from the outside and not be pulled from the house.
Remember that the air conditioning in your house not only cools the air but also dehumidifies it via its evaporator.
The most effective strategy for minimizing the effects of summer attic temperatures and eliminating the potential for winter ice damming is as follows:
1. Eliminate air leakage between the attic and living space. Common leakage points are:
a. penetrations made by plumbing and electrical fixtures,
b. top plates of interior walls
c. attic pull downs/ doors and plumbing chases.
d. Use expanding foam or caulk for plumbing and electrical penetrations and weather stripping for doors or pull downs.
2. Seal a/c ductwork located in the attic using a commercial grade duct sealer or mastic and insulate with a minimum 2” insulated duct-wrap with vapor barrier.
3. Insulate the attic floor to a minimum R-30.
4. Use light colored shingles to reduce roof surface temperatures.
5. Provide ridge and soffit or gable and soffit passive ventilation to building code specifications to remove moisture and prevent ice damming.
How's this working for ya? How's you attic ventilation? It'll work so much better if you have a good vent system in your attic. If the attic gets too hot it's like a heater on the ceiling.
Very smart! Just a quick question, which one is better: this hot air blown-out fan on attic or a cold air blown-in fan in front of window?
Unless you live in Georgia temps might start falling 11pm to 1am.....Maybe but not that much.....Good,Idea....thou..Thankz
I'm from GA, now in AZ. The Georgia humidity makes it impossible to cool off unless there is ac to chill it. In AZ, it is much drier and adding shade, evaporative coolers we work pretty well here; unless it gets humid during monsoon season, but not nearly as humid and oppressive as the South. We only use a small window AC unit during the hottest afternoons, this fan may help. Thanks
Now box fans are weather resistant 😊