Can whole house fans cause mold?

As a roofer, we see it all too often; whole home fans allowing warm air to infiltrate a cold attic during the winter months. This causes condensation resulting in mold growth. This is especially true with older fans.

What are the negatives of a whole house fan?

What are the disadvantages of a whole house fan? While a whole house fan is known for saving money on the cooling bill, it can possibly lead to a higher heating bill in the winter, especially for older whole house fans. An older house fan is a perfect escape for the air you are paying to heat in the wintertime.

Can a fan cause mold?

If the fan is set to the ON position daily, your home will be unable to rid itself of humidity. This, unfortunately, results in dust mites and mold growth. The EPA suggests an indoor humidity level for your home to be between 30%-50%.

Are whole house fans healthy?

Whole house fans are a more natural solution for whole-house ventilation. Whole house fans can provide air changes anywhere between 30-60 times in an hour. This keeps the air in the room fresher and healthier. As they cool the house by bringing in fresh air from outside, they can also be friendly for the environment.

Do whole house fans need to be cleaned?

Since whole house fans move a lot of air, they should be cleaned regularly. Whenever you are attempting to clean a whole house fan, safety is key.

House Full of Mold...Now What? 👀

Can you run a whole house fan all day?

Whole house fans can be ran at any time of the day, however, depending on the time of year and the goal you have, the time of day may be different. For cooling purposes during the warmer months of the year, Whole house fans are designed to run whenever it is cooler outside than inside your home.

How long should you leave a whole house fan on?

Opening more windows will result in less of breeze coming through each window. For best results, run your whole house fan for at least 10 minutes first thing in the morning to bring a cool breeze through the house and into the attic. This will expel any hot stale air buildup from the night before.

How many windows should be open when using a whole house fan?

How many windows should I leave open and which ones? A: Opening two or more windows half way or more is recommended. Basically you should make it easy for the home ventilation system to pull in air.

Why do manufactured homes have whole house fans?

Whole house ventilation systems use a series of fans and ducts that run through your home to better control the exchange of indoor air with outdoor air. It operates by pulling air from the outside and circulating it throughout your whole house. It ensures a fresh stream of clean and healthy air round the clock.

Can you run a whole house fan with the windows closed?

Generally, at least one window should be open while using your whole house fan so that the cooler outside air can replace the hotter inside air. Opening two or more windows partway is usually preferable to just opening one window.

Where should I put my whole house fan?

Typically, whole house fans are placed in the attic between the living space and ceiling. The central hallway is a great place to install your fan in many homes. To install your whole house fan you or your contractor marks your ceiling or wall opening using the premade template.

Does circulating air help prevent mold?

Another major step to prevent mold growth in your home is to make sure you are properly ventilating your home. Ventilation helps prevent humid air from getting trapped indoors and wreaking havoc with mold growth. Good airflow can help cut back on moisture and will dry wet areas of your home more quickly.

Do whole house fans help with humidity?

Whole house fans do not affect indoor air quality (unlike other types of cooling systems). Whole house fans lower the temperature inside your home without reducing humidity levels unlike air conditioners, so there is no need to worry about creating the perfect environment for allergens and other irritants.

Do whole house fans cost a lot to run?

Energy Savings with a Whole House Fan

Fans are simple motors with blades attached. They don't cost much to operate. The QC Guys estimate that a modern whole house fan in California at a rate of 16.7 cents per kWh (I pay 14.3 cents per kWh in MI) will cost 6.5 cents per hour on high and 1.8 cents per hour on low.

Is it cheaper to run a whole house fan or AC?

A whole house fan is much more cost-effective to run than a traditional A/C system. While an A/C system runs at 3000 watts or more for smaller homes and much higher for larger homes, a whole house fan runs at under 1000 watts for the largest models and most models at under 500 watts.

Do whole house fans bring in dust?

Some types of whole-house fans bring air from the outside and at the same time push air out of your house. In these cases, it makes sense to have a filter, as the outdoor air could contain contaminants, especially dust or, if you live in a metropolitan area, exhaust fumes.

Do you need to vent a whole house fan?

Installing and Using a Whole House Fan

Attic ventilation will usually need to be increased to exhaust the fan's air outdoors. You'll need 2 to 4 times the normal area of attic vents, or about one square foot of net free area for every 750 cubic feet per minute of fan capacity.

How do you prevent mold in a mobile home?

Should you open all windows with a whole house fan?

No, we recommend that you open very few select windows to match the proper net free venting of your home.

Is it OK to run a whole house fan all night?

Running a house fan all night

Actually, it is recommended to run a whole house exhaust fans overnight. This way, you are cooling more than just the air, you are reducing the temperature of your home's entire structure.

What happens if a fan runs continuously?

Running your system on constant fan will run air through your filter more often, reducing the amount of dust your family breathes in your home.

Can attic fans cause mold?

As a roofer, we see it all too often; whole home fans allowing warm air to infiltrate a cold attic during the winter months. This causes condensation resulting in mold growth. This is especially true with older fans. The air escapes through the inefficient louvers, filling the attic with moist air.

Will a fan prevent mold?

A whole house fan is one of the best ways to help prevent moisture and mold build up in the home.

What's better attic fan or whole house fan?

To ventilate the attic, the attic fan is a better choice since it actively moves air out of the attic. In fact, the whole house fan only deposits air from the house into the attic. Unless an attic fan has also been installed, the whole house fan relies on passive methods to remove that air from the attic.