Two different concepts. Whole house fans require the windows being open to provide a fresh air intake- traditionally they are run at night when it is cool outside and you use the fan to suck cool air in through the windows and blow the hot air out through a gable vent. Ceiling fans move the air in the living space which aids in evaporation which makes the air seem cooler while we are in the space (they don't actually change the temperature but we perceive it as cooler)

Presuming new construction with modern insulation and climate control the whole house fan seems unnecessary and it will pull in pollen etc. In some climates or where there is no central air conditioning they can make sense.

I have: a gable Mount attic fan, central A/C, and a whole house fan. I live in the SF Bay Area. The gable Mount fan Comes on at 100f. The A/C comes on at 78f. Often my daytime outside temperatures are in the 80’s +, cooling to 60f at night. If the A/C is running during the day, I will use the whole house fan when there is a inside/outside temp difference of ~10f. If we are have a heat wave, outside air temp might be 60 in the morning, but the walls of the house are 68f. Running the whole house fan on those occasions do little. The air temp changes but will soon heat up to wall temp.

I do not have any dust problems, but I know people who do. I can not visualize how a ceiling mounted evacuation fan would help with allergens or pet dander. If anything, the whole house would bring in pollens from outside.

I used to use portable fans to change the air in the house, now I use the whole house fan. I may have $300 in portable fans, my whole house fan was $2,500 (IIRC)

My whole house fan would not work on a living room. Too loud. My exhaust port is in a hallway. IIRC, hallway installation was recommended by the manufacturer. My fan is in the attic, but generates enough noise, I would not want to be in the same room.

There are attic vent requirements for the whole house fan.

Thanks Jim for the interesting feedback. We're in SoCal, so our summers are generally hotter. At least in the advertising, they say that the new fans are quieter and the ducted models allow a 6 ft offset from the vents, so they are supposedly quieter. Their attic is pretty open so that's not a problem too. The pricing seems to be what I estimated, thanks.

Whole-house fans are archaic technology and not at all something one would expect—or hope—to find in a 6,000 square foot “luxury home.” They helped to cool homes in climates with cool evening temps (in other words, not in the South) that did not have air conditioning. Once central air became affordable to the masses—like, in the ’70s—the whole-house fan became obsolete.

I’m putting one in my restoration in Maine. One of the reasons we love the place is that it is relatively untouched after 200 years (a former resident informed us the house had no heat, running water or electricity until the 1950’s) and we have no interest in central AC as Maine doesn’t get too hot. The whole house fan will be the perfect solution for us when it does get hot out. They really work well, I grew up in a big old home in Illinois without ac and ours cooled our 20 room house beautifully.

My parents custom home from the 1980s has one and they still use it regularly. They open all the windows at night and run it through the night. It certainly cools the house off well as long as the outside temp is around 70 or lower. My parents refuse to get A/C but I think they need it now that they're in their 70s and the house gets into the 80s when the summer temps outside are close to 100. The fan sucks air through the hallway in the center. It's a bit loud, but you get used to it. My parents prefer it over central air.

Old thread but...

The primary benefit of whole house fans is improved indoor air quality. Current ASHREA standards do not result in enough fresh air ventilation and so levels of CO2, VOC's and PMx.x can be too high good health and good sleep. This particularly in bedrooms at night.

WHF's are also quite energy efficient. If outdoor conditions are appropriate (roughly 40-78° / < 75% humidity) WHF will maintain a comfortable interior for about 1/12 the cost of mechanical air conditioning. And yes, that is 1/12 as in AC costs approx 12x as much to run as a WHF.

Finally, many people feel like WHF's create a more pleasant environment since there is a very slight breeze (of fresh air) rather than stagnant air.

As to being archaic and not luxury, they are increasingly common in $3mm - $7mm homes.

For some people they do create allergy problems during some parts of the year and for an extreme few for most or all of the year. Something to keep in mind though is that many people develop allergies (and other diseases) from too little exposure to fresh outdoor air. We spend too much time inside w/ increasingly hyper filtered air (along with high levels of CO2, VOC's and other toxins). Possibly the best way to avoid developing allergies is to spend more time in fresh air, remain active and a healthy weight, and eat more good stuff than bad stuff.

I live at a higher elevation that does cool off at night. Most days I run the WHF from dark until about 10 a.m. unless outside temps and humidity are extremely high. Haven't used AC for about 3 weeks now.

I had one in my 1973 ranch home and omg, turning that thing on was an EVENT. IT sounded and felt like you were living inside a 747 jet engine. Batten down the hatches!

@Mini-Split Warehouse, I think you are confusing Whole House Fans that are installed and exhaust only with portable fans. Very different things.

Fortunately technology and knowledge have improved a bit since 1973 :-). Today's WHF's are very quiet and on lower settings cannot be heard at all.