Whole house fan for summer cabin?

JH3550

I am looking to install a whole house fan for an uninsulated summer cabin on the coast of southern New England. AC is not an option. Cabin is about 500 sq ft.

I’m hoping to put the fan where there is currently a gable vent. Opening is 14”H X 16”W. The rooms do not have ceilings, so this fan will be over a bedroom, so I’m concerned about noise level.

Does this seem possible? Would that gable vent work as a place to mount the fan? Any recommendations for quiet fans?

Thanks!

PDTech

I have a whole house fan mounted in the ceiling that is somewhat larger than your opening. Because it is a large enough fan, it doesn't need to turn at a high RPM, so it is only a low pitched, rumbly sound. (Actually kind of soothing)

Larry Weingarten

Hi, Panasonic is known for making quiet fans. Some thoughts and questions. You're doing this to cool the building? If so, how are you making sure cool air is what gets pulled in? Can you make an air inlet, low on the North side of the house or some other place that could supply cooler air? … What color is the roof? If it's dark, that can contribute significantly to overheating. How about keeping the summer sun out of the building? Is there shading on South and West facing windows? Is adding exterior insulation something you can consider in future? Might be a good place for rigid foam. 🤠

Yours, Larry

JH3550

@Larry Weingarten this is an uninsulated summer only cabin. The windows are old and are open all the time during the season. It has nice shade in the morning and midday but gets blasted in the late afternoon. The sun will go down, the outside air will be comfortable, but the inside is roasting.

Roof is dark brown or gray IIRC (I’m not there right now).

pecmsg

a small mini split Will do that cabin.

Jamie Hall

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1803031#Comment_1803031

Oh please. A mini-split defeats the whole purpose of a summer cabin.

Open all the windows (screens are helpful, if you mind bugs) and enjoy the summer. Otherwise, why even bother to have a cabin somewhere?

A good exhaust fan will do the job nicely. Some are quieter than others, but you shouldn't need to run it all night.

EBEBRATT-Ed

They make fans you can mount on the gable end. Usually comes with a louver that opens and closes when the fan starts and stops

Steamhead

If that's a second-floor bedroom, put a good window fan in a first-floor window. It will move a lot of air but the noise will be far enough away that it won't be a problem.

EdTheHeaterMan

From that photo. I'm going to guess the the 500 sq ft is all first floor, and that @JH3550 has an uninsulated combination roof ceiling that we are looking at in the photo. When I first moved into my 2 story colonial in South Jersey, there was no central AC. but the home felt like it was air conditioned in the morning. Walk outside to go to work and you could feel the heat. The uncomfortable heat from the noon to 3:00PM sun beating on the roof, did not really hit us inside until after 2:PM, and that heat stuck around until well past 9:00PM.

When I added the Whole house fan, I would run it on a thermostat set at 65° overnight. Sometimes the home was 60° in the morning. I would shut off the fan before I left for work and and close up all the windows. When I got home, the temperature was not that bad. After the sun dropped below the tree line, the outdoor temperature would drop by 10° and I would turn the fan on. By just opening a window about 1-1/2 to 2", that cool evening air was all that was needed to make the house comfortable, in no time. Any room you wanted to cool down, just crack the window a little and you got great cool fresh air blowing over you body.

We used that for 5 years until I could afford to put in the Central AC.

I like your Idea! As far as a quiet fan, the larger the opening the slower you need to operate the fan motor. The motor is not the noisy part, it is the propeller moving the air that is making all the noise. A big propeller moving slow, will move the same amount of air as a smaller prop spinning fast.

Waqas

It sounds like a whole house fan could be a great solution for your cabin. The gable vent should work as a mounting spot. For a quieter option, look into fans like the QuietCool CL-1500. Make sure to check the fan's size and compatibility with your existing vent dimensions.