As the seasons change in the Treasure Valley we all love the fairly consistent cool evenings and mornings with the nice warm days. It's part of what we all love about Idaho.
The only problem is that the inside of your house does not mimic these temperatures at all, unless you have a vintage home with poor insulation. We all know that our homes will stay pretty much warm unless you run that air conditioner. Which these days cost much more than it ever has.
This is the time of year when having a whole house fan will make all the difference in the world. We have all tried the box fan in the window and it may work pretty good for one room but it just does not compare to a whole house fan.
At bedtime if the outdoor temperature is less than the indoor we shut off the air conditioner and open a few windows with the whole house fan running and it cools down the house in just a few minutes at a fraction of the cost to run the air conditioning system.
In the mornings we almost always run the fan with the windows open for a couple of hours to pre-cool our home and it works great, freshens the air in the house and the best part is that when we do run the fan and shut it off before the outside temperature starts to rise the air conditioning system does not need to run for better than half the day on most days. In comparison on those days when we do not run our fan the air conditioning system begins to cycle as early as nine in the morning.
The best part is that whole house fans are relatively inexpensive, they are usually very simple fans that are installed in the ceiling so that they blow their air into the attic space of your home pulling the cool air from outside to cool down your house and your attic at the same time. They are sized to move a whole bunch of air all at once and can come with either two or three speeds or there are even variable speed models.
So if you are looking for ways to save money on your utility bill or maybe you just want to reduce your carbon footprint, this is a great way of getting several benefits from one simple measure.
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Ground source heat pumps provide heating, air conditioning, and, if so equipped, supply the house with hot water. They are smaller than a traditional heating/cooling unit and can easily be retrofitted into any home. The mechanical components are safely located underground or within the home – which eliminates fears of vandalism or theft. With extreme durability the parts can last a generation and require very little maintenance. These systems do not have fans, so instead of hearing and feeling blasts of air, you will enjoy a quiet, consistent temperature throughout the day. Geothermal heat pumps can even improve your health and reduce allergies because they excel at humidity control, thus there is a reduced chance for mold and mildew growth.
A whole house fan is a simple and cheap way of cooling a house. It can save you hundreds of dollars in your energy bill during the warm months. What's more, it is easy to install.
- AtticFan.com
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