How Using a Whole House Fan Helps You Support Earth Day
April 22 is Earth Day, a day that is reserved to celebrate Mother Earth and enact practices that will help to conserve her. Earth Day is rapidly approaching; have you thought about how you are going to support this important day?
While recycling, cleaning up trash on the ground, and reducing the amount of toxic chemicals are certainly all ways that you can support Earth Day, there are other not-so-common ways that you can show your support for this special day. One option that you may have never thought of before is by installing a whole house fan.
What is a Whole House Fan?
Similar to any other fan, a whole house fan helps to move and circulate the air in a space; however, this type of fan takes that circulation to a whole new level.
A whole house fan is a fan or exhaust system, of sorts, that usually vents into the attic of a building. Its purpose is to circulate the air inside a building. This fan pulls air into a house and exhausts it through the attic and roof. It improves ventilation in the attic and helps to cool the entire house. Whole house fans typically provide a house with 30 to 60 air changes per hour, and this will vary depending on the climate you live in and how much you use it for cooling your house.
Benefits of a Whole House Fan
There are a number of benefits that a whole-house fan provides, including:
Improving the insulating power in your attic. As the heat inside your home rises and the hot sun bakes down on the roof, the attic becomes significantly warmer. As a result, your HVAC system could go into overdrive, which could not only cause your energy bills to skyrocket, but could contribute to the emission of greenhouse gases. A whole house fan will push the hot air out of your attic, thus reducing how hard your HVAC system has to work.
Reducing the amount of energy you use. If you use an air conditioner to cool your home, you’ll be happy to know that a whole house fan uses about 10% of the energy that an air conditioner uses, according to the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. That not only translates to savings, but it also eliminates the harmful toxins that an air conditioner puts into the atmosphere.
Allowing you to open the windows in your home. With a whole house fan, you can open the windows and let the fresh air in. That means that you will not only eliminate the buildup of stagnant air, but you will also be able to enjoy natural, fresh air.
In addition to being an excellent way to show your support for Earth Day, you may also be able to enjoy whole house fan energy rebates. Some municipalities and utility companies offer rebates to those who use whole-house fans.