Whole House Fan Selection: Tamtech HV-1600 vs. Superfan
Hello everyone. I am about to pull the trigger on a whole house fan. I live in NH and have plenty of net exhaust area in my attic (already did the calculations in the brochure).
I have a two-story house with 2,000 sq. ft. I am trying to decide if I should go with the HV-1600 or the Superfan. I really like the Superfan having the fan away from the ceiling and being able to individual duct into 4 locations. I would pick the three bedrooms and the hallway above the stairs. I do not like power consumption and the fact you have to block the vents during the winter (as opposed to always being insulated like the HV-1600).
Any thoughts on those two products? does anyone think the benefits of the Superfan would be worth the extra cost (initial purchase plus energy usage)?
http://www.wholehousefan.com/PRODUCTS/HV-1600–GDR.html
http://www.wholehousefan.com/PRODUCTS/THE-SUPERFAN.html
Thanks again, Zach.
Replies
Nothing wrong with having just the single fan duct in the central hallway, if the house layout isn't too complicated. Open the windows, open the doors to the hallway, and air is drawn through every room. (Forces surly teenagers to open their doors and act like they're a part of the family.)
(We have this setup running right now, and it's procucing a nice breeze in this "bedroom".)
I'd actually be somewhat concerned that the multi-ducted fan wouldn't work as well -- it could leave more "dead zones".
THanks
Thanks Dan, that is what I thought also. Even thought the Superfan may be neat, not sure if it willbe worth it in the long run.
I'm in complete disagreement with Dan, I say go for the individual ducted.
We have the big central fan at the top of the stairs. 36". It's hard for it to really cool off the entire house, though it does help. Even rooms NEXT to the fan don't have the heat drawn out as I'd like.
As for dead spots, if you have 8' ceilings and a 77" doorway, you will be sucking out the hot air that is stuck in the room with a vent on the ceiling. You want a crosswind, don't put it next to the window.
What did you decide?
I am considering a Superfan. Not a lot of good technical info out there. Did you end up putting in a Superfan? I don't have an attic, so I need a system that can be ducted to the outside. I need the individual intake vents. But the Superfan moves too much air - 1300 CFM too much to be exact. Doesn't look like it meant to be variable speed. It would be going in a SIP house (very tight building envelope) and run with a positive pressure cooling unit that only moves 1200 CFMs. It is too expensive to be an experiment. Did you use one? Do you like it?
THANKS!