I've seen a lot of love for whole house fans in this forum, especially from those who enjoy a nice breeze. I'm curious how many of you have combined a whole house fan with central air conditioning, ductless mini splits, or even just ceiling or portable fans. I live in the SF Bay Area by the coast, where we get plenty of cool morning and evening breezes, but my house doesn't have AC. I'm thinking about adding some kind of cooling solution. What do you all recommend?
5 Answers
I used to live in Walnut Creek, and we had a whole house fan alongside central AC. Now I'm in San Diego, and I've kept both setups here too—definitely a good combo!
My family has places in Concord and Sacramento, both equipped with central air and whole house fans. They heat up more than the coast, but you might not need AC by the beach if you can cool the house in the morning and keep it sealed. I've had days where the AC didn't even kick in until it hit the high 90s, and it was in the 60s overnight.
I live in LA and we use both a whole house fan and AC here—even with both, we still end up using the AC a lot!
I live a bit inland from Los Angeles with both a whole house fan and central air. I've made my house energy efficient, so it stays cool with ceiling fans until late afternoon. In the evenings, I run the whole house fan, and if it gets too warm, then I switch on the AC.
My current home had both AC and a not-so-great whole house fan. Honestly, it was just a hole in the ceiling that sucked the cool air out. We removed it and insulated the attic instead—best decision! If I were starting fresh without AC, I'd probably opt for a mini split instead of a whole house fan.