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Tamarack House Fan feedback

mackzully | Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on September 9, 2008 12:30pm

I’m looking at installing a Tamarack TC-1000 house fan, as it’s specifically designed to installed in a hot roof (cool)

But it’s nearly $800! (not cool)

I’m sold on the concept of whole house cooling, but I’m not sold on the price of the fans from Tamarack. I don’t know what part they’re making out of unobtanium, but I can’t figure out the expense of it.

So first, is their stuff really that good/well constructed to warrant the price?

And second, are there any other options for a hot roof? I can’t use their ceiling mount unit because I don’t have enough eve venting for it, and besides, that would defeat the purpose of the hot roof.

Z

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Replies

  1. Clewless1 | Sep 09, 2008 05:58am | #1

    Is this like a gable end type vent fan? If it exhausts the house, it is doing no cooling. If it vents ONLY the attic, it's fine.

    You can buy a gable end vent fan at a big box store for like $50 ... guessing the cfm to be 500 or something. You should be able to buy larger ones. Also buy a louver and a automatic damper (optional). We're missing something here about this $800 prize you found ... you got a website to go w/ that?

    1. mackzully | Sep 09, 2008 04:04pm | #5

      Clewless, Sorry, I forgot to include a link to the fan:http://www.tamtech.com/store/tc1000-h-whole-house-fan-white,Product.aspI have a townhouse with a low slope roof (maybe 2/12? I've never measured it) that I had the underside spray foamed. The above fan is roof mounted, not ceiling or gable mounted as most are, so solves the problem of how to vent the inside air without having to make my own damper assemblies or install a large roof jack for it. Since I don't really have eves in an inconspicuous location to mount vents or a gable type fan, this appears to me to be the only option for a hot roof. I figure that for 3 months or maybe more, I'd be able to use this, which makes the cost a little easier to swallow, but before I do plunk down the cash, I'm hoping someone has experience with this product or with their products that they can tell me about... They were not friendly on the phone when I called for the flashing detail and installation instructions. I really like the idea as I usually open all the windows in the house and put a box fan in a second floor window to vent the built up heat in the house when I get home from work.The other way I could see doing this would be to use their ceiling product, and install it on the roof inside a cupola of some sort, or install it in the ceiling as per design, and then run a duct from it to a very large roof jack (I would assume for 800/1600CFM). Z

      1. User avater
        BillHartmann | Sep 09, 2008 05:30pm | #8

        I had not seen that one before. They have out models for years that go through the ceiling and assumed that what you where talking about.But I checked your location.Washington DC.You don't want to use that unit anytime that the humidity is high and the AC is on.Don't know if you will use it enough in the spring and fall, but you certain don't want to use it in the summer..
        .
        A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.

        1. mackzully | Sep 09, 2008 07:29pm | #10

          Exactly, this isn't for the summertime in DC, but for the spring and fall. The summer has been so mellow this year that I would have gotten some use out of it, but in general, you're correct. I didn't grow up with AC and I really like fresh air venting, even if it's not as cool as it would be with AC (and sometimes smells like the city ;)I'd be aiming for 3 months of usage a year with it, which I think is reasonable for DC. Then again, my humidity tolerance is waaay off since I've moved here, it's 70% outside, and I think it's nice...Z

          1. User avater
            BillHartmann | Sep 09, 2008 07:50pm | #11

            Well I am in KC which is also humid in the summer, but don' thave a direct comparison with DC. I suspect that DC is somewhat more humid.And I have a large whole house fan. Don't know the rating, but the lovers are 30" x 44".And typically I will run it about 4 weeks in the spring until the last week of June or July.The again in Sept after the first week. But not near as much. And this year my AC needs replacing and did not try to use it. But the summer was cooler. Only had about 1 week of that it was really bad. And Mine is high enough velocity and my bed arranged that it sweep across the bed at night.So it might work for you.The people that turn the AC on May 15 and off Oct 15 it won't..
            .
            A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.

  2. ruffmike | Sep 09, 2008 07:06am | #2

    I live in a different part of the country, not hot enough to warrant air conditioning except a few hot spells a year. I am interested in an attic/ house fan to try and cool the house down at these times but don't know anything about the theory etc.

     Here is a link to the tamarack; http://www.rewci.com/tatc.html

                                Mike

        Small wheel turn by the fire and rod, big wheel turn by the grace of god.



    Edited 9/9/2008 12:07 am by ruffmike

    1. User avater
      BillHartmann | Sep 09, 2008 07:41am | #3

      Well a whole house fan don't "cool" a house.What they do it draw in outside air, which depending on the climate and time of day may be cooler than the house.If it warmer then it heats it up.And if you are in the path of the air flow you get cooling evaporation on the body, just like anyother fan..
      .
      A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.

      1. Clewless1 | Sep 09, 2008 03:27pm | #4

        Bill .... Thanks for the clarification/correction. A fan in the attice won't DIRECTLY cool the house, but a cooler attic will help keep the house cooler.

        If just moving air through the house and it is a bit cooler outside ... maybe you have lots of west windows! ... then a fan would cool the house directly, also.

        The Tamarack is certainly looks like a nice package, high quality. I wasn't impressed much by the limited information/description in the link the other guy provided, though. The product does seem to have a couple of key qualities: an insulated damper/cover and quiet operation. ... although it doesn't have a sone rating.

         

        Edited 9/9/2008 8:28 am ET by Clewless1

      2. ruffmike | Sep 10, 2008 02:54am | #13

        Bill thanks for the info. I have an old house with just a gable vent, no soffit or ridge vents. When I reroof in a few years if I add soffit and ridge vents, should there be a noticable change in coolness in the living area?

        Do you know of a website that might explain some of this science ?                            Mike

            Small wheel turn by the fire and rod, big wheel turn by the grace of god.

        1. User avater
          BillHartmann | Sep 10, 2008 04:07am | #14

          "When I reroof in a few years if I add soffit and ridge vents, should there be a noticable change in coolness in the living area?"Proably not.From my limited experience you can't ventilate roof enough to reduce the temperature in the house. At least not based on the temp in my attic.Now I if you did not have good ventilation it might have some affect, don't know.But better insulation probably has more of an affect..
          .
          A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.

  3. wallyo | Sep 09, 2008 04:11pm | #6

    Installed a tamarack attic whole house fan in my sisters house the largest made at the time.
    They hardly use it, their house may be too large fan too small. So unless your house is on the small side (1000-1500 sf) I would not bother.

    We are in a dry climate at the same time we put in a swamp cooler they use that more, the air movement between the two can not be compared. My brother inlaw wanted a house fan the others made at the time were ugly he liked the tamarakc's design.

    Wallyo

    1. mackzully | Sep 09, 2008 04:51pm | #7

      It's a small house, ~1100 sq ft, one open area on the 1st floor and two bedrooms and a bathroom on the second, so there isn't a whole lot standing in the way of air movement. Does a swamp cooler recycle the inside the air? Or does it exchange it? If they don't have any open windows, then a house fan isn't going to do much.Z

      1. wallyo | Sep 09, 2008 06:25pm | #9

        A swamp cooler only works in very very low humidity areas. it pulls air from the exterior, cooling it across pads that are washed with water. pushing it out an window open as far from it or on the first floor. In effect it is the reverse of a whole house fan. Will NOT work in the DC area.Wallyo

  4. shellbuilder | Sep 10, 2008 12:10am | #12

    I have a Tamarack, extremely loud, I would look at another brand and check the noise ratings. from their site...

     

    How quiet are the Tamarack whole house coolers?
    The HV1000 is about as quiet as a toaster over. The HV1600 model and the Ghost are noticeably louder than the HV1000.  Sound levels can be given in both decibels (dBA) and Sones.
    HV1000; 59 dBA, 3 Sones
    HV1600; 59 dBA & 3 Sones on low and 70 dBA & 5.5 Sones on high
    Ghost; 70 dBA & 5.5 Sones on low and 78 dBA & 6.5 Sones on high


    Edited 9/9/2008 5:33 pm ET by shellbuilder



    Edited 9/9/2008 6:24 pm ET by shellbuilder

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