On Saturday, July 15, 2017 at 11:14:33 AM UTC-4, Jack wrote:
On 07/15/2017 10:44 AM, FanOfWholeHouseFans wrote:
replying to JimT, FanOfWholeHouseFans wrote:
I beg to differ with "better than nothing." . Living in a dry climate
where
the nights cool down very nicely, a whole house fan is the way to go for
cooling cheaply and sustainably in an overtaxed climate, and it works
well.
Shut curtains and Windows all day to keep cool air in and hot air out.
Then,
once the evening outside temp drops near or below the inside temp, we
open
every window and switch on the whole house fan, which cools down the
house
lickety split with fresh air. BUT, these things are loud and we could not
sleep with it on or watch tv or talK on the phone. So I too keep
looking for a
variable speed fan that we can run quietly on low all night and when
we need
to hear. Would someone please manufacture these. There are lots of us
out here
who hate AC and want to do things more sustainably and who prefer
exchanging
stale house sir with fresh air, and who live in places where cool
night air in
summer is the best way of truly conditioning the ai!


The "ideal state" is generous venting at the peak and soffits of your
roof. If the attic temp goes 5F above outdoor ambient, you need to add
more attic venting.

A hotter-than-ambient attic just needlessly raises your electric bill.

I guess you haven't seen many attics. Where did that 5F limit come from?
I have yet to see any attic where the attic temp in summer is just 5F
above ambient outside temp. Typical is more than several times that. Which is
what insulation is for. 5F is nuts and is never going to happen with
passive, even with fans it would require moving a lot of air when it's
85F+ and sunny.