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Whole House Fan vs Attic Fan

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While both attic fans and whole house fans help to ventilate, they each serve distinct purposes within a home. So what’s the difference between an attic fan vs. whole house fan?

Whole House Fan vs Attic Fan: The Differences

Attic Fans Whole House Fans
Designed to cool the just the attic of a home. Attic fans: Designed to cool the living space at night whenever the outside temperature is lower than the indoor temperature. Whole house fans:
  • Regulate heat levels in attics
  • Exhaust hot air in attics through attic vents while replacing it with relatively cooler outdoor air
  • Lower the heat and humidity
  • Reduce strain on AC systems
  • Improve home performance
  • Mitigate scorching heat or moisture build up, putting less stress on roofing materials
  • Are installed on gable vent or through the roof
  • Regulate heat levels in both attics and throughout the home
  • Draw cool outside air in through open doors and windows while expelling hot, stale and possibly contaminated air out 
  • Provide effective natural cooling rather than recycled indoor air
  • Lower indoor temperatures while refreshing the air
  • Precool air overnight to reduce AC use during the day
  • Improve home performance
  • Mitigate scorching heat or moisture build up, putting less stress on roofing materials
  • Can eliminate the need for ACs in dry, low-humidity climates with cooler nights
  • Create cooling in homes without ACs
  • Can reduce airborne hazards and irritants (i.e., radon, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, cooking, pet odors, etc.)
  • Can be ceiling mounted above louvers, where air drawn into the attic is forced out through vents in eaves, roof or gables
  • Can be attic-mounted in the roof or exterior wall of the attic, blowing air directly out
See also  Understanding and Eliminating HVAC Air Duct Contaminants for Better Air

While attic fans help prevent the transfer of heat from a hot attic to the living space below, whole house fans draw in cooler, fresh evening air through open windows, actually pulling warm, stale, contaminated air from the living space. This is the difference between an attic fan vs. whole house fan.

Field Controls Whole House Fans: Better Air for Better Living

Focused on the movement of air inside the home, Field Controls is committed to creating comfortable, safe, energy-efficient systems that improve indoor environments. Our VentCool series of whole house fans—Summit, Tahoe and Vista—are exceedingly energy efficient, quietly performing residential cooling systems that use up to 90% less energy than traditional air conditioning. Providing 30+ air changes per hour depending on fan selection and size of house, and utilizing either ECM (Summit, Vista) or PSC (Tahoe) motors, as well as Air Loc Gravity dampers (Tahoe, Summit) or our exclusive PowerSeal Motorized Damper with R-49 insulation (Vista) for a secure, precise seal that isolates the attic from the living space when operation for whole house fan is not desired, Field Controls’ whole house fans are rated and tested to Home Ventilation Institute Standard HVI-916, can be used to comply with 2016 Title 24 Part 6 and are also eligible for the Home Energy Renovation Opportunity (HERO) financing program.

To learn more about Field Controls VentCool Whole House Fans, contact us today.

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