Simple Ways to Cool Your Home and Save Big
Use energy-efficient ceiling, attic and whole-house fans instead of air conditioning.
August/September 2009
By Dan Chiras
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Some solar attic fans exhaust hot attic air out through the gable-end vent. The photovoltaic panel that powers the fan is on the roof.
KEITH WARD
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One of the easiest ways to keep your cool in the summer is to use fans. In addition to moving air around, which makes us feel cooler, fans can, if properly located, purge heat from a house and draw in cool outside air. Moreover, fans use less energy than central air conditioners and evaporative coolers, and are less expensive to install. Fans can dramatically lower utility bills by reducing the need to use air conditioning.
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Follow these links for information on specific fan types:
Ceiling Fans: A Simple Cooling Method
Solar Attic Fans: Cool Your Attic and Your Home
Whole-house Fans: Easy, Low-cost Cooling
What Will You Save?
A regular attic fan uses electricity, but saves about 10 percent on air conditioning costs by keeping your attic (and, as a result, the living space below it) cooler. Solar-powered attic fans have a higher initial cost.
A ceiling or portable floor fan will cut your energy costs if you have central air conditioning — if you raise the thermostat setting. For every degree you turn it up, you will cut 7 to 10 percent from your cooling costs.
Using a whole-house fan — instead of air conditioning — when the temperature cools off in the evening and early morning hours can save significantly on energy costs. Not only does a whole-house fan cost less to run than air conditioning, but it can cool a house down in just a few minutes, after the outside air temperature has decreased.
