Should You Get An Attic Fan or a Whole House Fan?

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Want to make your home more energy efficient? Want your home to be cooler in the summer, warmer in the winter, and save money throughout the year?

Then you’ve probably contemplated adding a fan to your attic. But if you’ve done a little research, the concept can be more than a little confusing.

Attic fan? Whole house fan? What’s the difference?

Attic Fans

An attic fan has one purpose: to ventilate and exhaust the air inside the attic to the outside. This air movement can help keep the attic cool, because most attics take the brunt of the heat intake in the warm summer months. The typical attic can reach more than 140 degrees in the heat of the summer, so it’s important to give your attic a tool to help it cool off on the hottest days of the year.

Whole House Fans

Whole house fans are also installed in the attic, which is why the two are often confused. The difference is in how they ventilate. Whereas attic fans are connected to a vent, whole house fans use fresh air from open windows that directly feed into the attic. The attic is pressurized and the air is fed out through attic vents.

The purpose of a whole house fan is to make the entire house a more comfortable living environment. For this reason, you’ll only use a whole house fan when the outside is cooler than the inside, and you’re trying to push the warm air out.

Should you invest in both?

Depending on your current home heating and cooling system, installing both attic fans and whole house fans can be an added benefit with home ventilation. They each serve different purposes, and can provide a great way to keep your home comfortable, no matter what the season.

Have more HVAC questions? Want to know how to keep your home comfortable year round? We can help with that. Give us a call today.