[lichris]

We just bought a smaller 1000sqft ranch with baseboard heating and no central ac. We discovered our house is "hot" and looked into having central air installed, but it is out of our price range and I hate to run the window ac's when it is 60 outside.

I was thinking about installing a whole house fan but I'm concerned with the chimney that runs through the attic (it's your typical tin pipe) and causing draft issues.

We have 2 gable vents and soffit vents, but I also need to install a roof vent anyway. The attic get so hot it's rediculous... I am doing that regardless of the whole house fan.

So the question is will the whole house fan effect anything and have I overlooked anything? This is our first house (I've always lived in one, but this is the first one we pay a mortgage) and I'm pretty handy...

 

[beenthere]

You'll need to open most of your windows to run the fan.

 

[dac122]

I love my Whole House Fan. In my region I don't need the A/C very much because of it.

Whole House Fans move a great deal of air so, yes, make sure you open at least a few windows before using. You definitely want some ventilation in the attic to move the air outside, so putting in a ridge vent will help. Maybe your soffit and gable vents will be enough.

If you have blown in insulation in your attic there are concerns the dust from that insulation could clog your soffit vents.

Get a model that is well insulated for the winter or make yourself a cap from pink foam board and lay some insulation over the foam cap. Add ceiling fans to as many rooms as you can also.

 

[stitch]

This site has some good whole house fan info and a handy fan sizer: http://www.whole-house-fan-info.com/.