Whole House fan for moving hot air?

[skmag357]

Hey guys,
I posted back in Jan or Feb about installing a system to move the hot air in my house from the front room where the stove is into the other rooms and upstairs as well. One guy sent me a detailed blower system that used a fan and duct work to move the air into some other rooms. I didn't get around to installing the system but I am reconsidering my approach. I was doing some research and I saw that a whole house fan might be a better option. I would position it at the top of the stairs on my colonial home and turn it on to draw the warm air from the downstairs. The fan I was looking at had flexible duct work to vent the warm air outside since these fans are suppose to be used to cool the house. I was thinking that instead of running the duct work to vent outside, I could use it to vent into my bedroom and our bathroom. I know hot air naturally rises but I want to help the process out and get areas of the house warmer quicker. Has anyone tried this approach before? In the summer, I would simply un hook the duct work from the vents and connect it to the outside vents. Another question is can you use a whole house fan with the windows closed? I know that the purpose is to open the windows and cool the house in the summer with the cooler outside air but can they still be run without the windows open? Let me know. thanks

 

[gtsawyer]

Hey guys,
I posted back in Jan or Feb about installing a system to move the hot air in my house from the front room where the stove is into the other rooms and upstairs as well. One guy sent me a detailed blower system that used a fan and duct work to move the air into some other rooms. I didn't get around to installing the system but I am reconsidering my approach. I was doing some research and I saw that a whole house fan might be a better option. I would position it at the top of the stairs on my colonial home and turn it on to draw the warm air from the downstairs. The fan I was looking at had flexible duct work to vent the warm air outside since these fans are suppose to be used to cool the house. I was thinking that instead of running the duct work to vent outside, I could use it to vent into my bedroom and our bathroom. I know hot air naturally rises but I want to help the process out and get areas of the house warmer quicker. Has anyone tried this approach before? In the summer, I would simply un hook the duct work from the vents and connect it to the outside vents. Another question is can you use a whole house fan with the windows closed? I know that the purpose is to open the windows and cool the house in the summer with the cooler outside air but can they still be run without the windows open? Let me know. thanks

I have a whole-house fan - it's part of my forced-air ducted heating and cooling system. I just turn the fan switch on my thermostat to "always on" and it does a great job of circulating the air around my house (basement + main floor). The main gas furnace doesn't turn on unless the temperature drops below the set point, so I just keep the wood insert fueled up.

The main safety concern is that the room containing the fan never draw a vacuum within the room itself, which could suck the exhaust gases out of the flues used by the water heater, furnace, etc. Local building codes will have this well covered.

 

[slowp]

I don't have any ductwork. I do have a whole house fan. There are tiny vents in the windows that should be open when it runs and the purpose is to exchange air in a tightly built house.

The bad thing? If I forget about the fan, and open the door of the woodstove while the fan is running the smoke gets sucked out the door and the smoke alarms go off.

The fan is on a timer, but is easy to turn off and on. It is set to run 3 times a day.