When considering a whole house fan there are several options. The option that has been around the longest is the traditional style whole house fan. These fans are mounted directly on the ceiling level. You will also find Advanced Whole House Fans, that use special ducting to suspend the fan motor from the ceiling grille.
Traditional whole house fans were created in the 1960s. They do exactly what they claim: move a lot of air, but they have many negatives. Traditional whole house fans are very loud, sound like a helicopter in your home, are very inefficient using cheap motors, and are very cheaply made. QuietCool is the patent holder for ducted whole house fans, otherwise known as advanced whole house fans. QuietCool whole house fans suspend the motorhead 3 to 6 feet away from the ceiling grille with an acoustically lined duct that dampens the sound level. Some companies out there claim they use blades made from “special materials” to make their whole house fans quiet. With the fan motor right above the living space, there is a lot of air noise and motor noise that are present regardless of the material the blade is made from. With QuietCool, we place the motor away from the living space, limiting the space without having to manufacture reasons that make our fans quieter.
QuietCool also includes a barometric pressurized damper system above the grille that seals at an R5 value that prevents minimal heat and air transfer back into the home. Traditional whole house fans do not have any R value so there will be a lot of heat transfer between the home and attic.
The last objection to a traditional whole house fan is the look of the fan on the ceiling level. Traditional whole house fans are very large, ranging from 24 inches by 24 inches to 48 inches by 48 inches. Most include shutters that rattle very loudly and are very aesthetically unpleasing. QuietCool ceiling grilles are much smaller ranging from 14 inches by 14 inches to 14 inches by 36 inches and use attractive white egg-crate style aluminum. They are removable for easy cleaning and are very quiet.
Because advanced whole house fans are so much better than traditional whole house fans, the state of California is giving builders huge credit to put advanced whole house fans in new homes as a standard. Traditional whole house fans aren’t allowed in new construction homes, only advanced whole house fans like QuietCool. QuietCool will soon be as common as a ceiling fan. When choosing a whole house fan be sure to check all of your options from a traditional whole house fan mounted directly on the ceiling, or an advanced whole house fan, like QuietCool.
And remember, there are other advanced whole house fans that look similar to QuietCool, but they are very different and in many cases, inferior to the QuietCool product line.
Check out this video for more info.
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