Does code allow for a wall switch for a tight house vent fan

last year

last modified: last year

I own a house that is supposedly tight enough to require one of those ventilation fans that is supposed to run 24x7 to create some negative pressure and allow air to infiltrate. I have some doubts as to whether a) the house is really that tight, and b) air is being drawn in from much more than the area around the window in the room the fan is in, not really drawing in air throughout the whole 2500+ sqft house.

For now I have unplugged it as I am fine opening the windows for fresh air. It is a Broan that makes quite a racket. My understanding is that Panasonic makes quieter ones, but I'm not sure what is involved in that replacement.

Anyway, my question is, if I ask a licensed electrician to wire this up to a wall or ceiling switch so that I have some easier control than pulling the cover down and unplugging it, is that allowed by code and something they would do, or are they going to tell me it is against code? I live in WA.

Featured Answer

Terry Hill

last year

You should replace it with a Panasonic Whisper quiet fan and have it put on a 24 hour timer.

the fan only needs to run for a fraction of a hour depending on your house size.

https://www.energy.wsu.edu/documents/Fresh%20air%20intake%20FAQ_rev%208-18-22_MTS.pdf

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (10)

HU-323517698
last year
last modified: last year
You should never eliminate your fresh air supply into a tight home. Its a negative effect on IAQ and your health.
PRO
Mark Bischak, Architect
last year
Ask your local code official.
Related Professionals
Middlesboro Architects & Building Designers · Modesto Architects & Building Designers · Amherstburg Architects & Building Designers · Stockton Design-Build Firms · Williston Design-Build Firms · Brattleboro Home Builders · San Diego Home Builders · Cornwall Home Builders · Tulsa General Contractors · New Bedford General Contractors · McAlester Home Remodeling · Orangeburg Home Remodeling · Jacksonville Bathroom Remodelers · Georgetown Bathroom Remodelers · Chula Vista Bathroom Remodelers
Frank Marsh
Original Author
last year
@Terry Hill can you recommend a timer?
Terry Hill
last year
Frank,

I would use this timer.

Leviton VPT24-16W :: Indoor Decora 24-Hour Programmable Timer 120VAC, White :: PLATT ELECTRIC SUPPLY

It has the option to turn on and off just like a switch as well as the 24hour timer settings.
Terry Hill
last year
Where in Washington are you, Frank?
HU-171482230
last year
last modified: last year
A ERV is a REQUIREMENT for any modern home.
skmom
last year
You will have to ask in your area. We had to have 3 of them installed in our home that we finished building 11 months ago, one on each floor. We were able to talk our builder and electrician into wiring a switch for each of them... but only because we wanted the option to turn them off if there’s wildfire smoke nearby since that is something we deal with often enough here. Otherwise, we leave them running all of the time and they are very quiet and we never notice them. They are Panasonic, I don’t know what type of model or anything though. We will have them switched off tomorrow because there will be a controlled burn just a few miles away from our home. So far this past year, the only other time we switched them off was the day we did our own large burn this past spring, and we haven’t needed to otherwise. The switches they wired are kind of separate from other switches so we don’t accidentally turn them off. (Also, I got the idea that they weren’t really supposed to wire them with switches for us, but they totally understood why we didn’t want our house potentially full of smoke smell on a regular enough basis...)
skmom
last year
... oh... also, we leave our windows open most of the year. We live in a mild climate and do not need, or have, an hvac system for our house. But we still leave those systems running all of the time so long as the valley below us isn’t full of smoke.
skmom
last year
LOL! One more thing... our house really is quite airtight when we’ve turned them off. (Ours is about 2,220 sq ft. 2 floors on top of a walk out basement, which is why they required we have 1 system on each floor) But we had forgotten to turn them off when we did our burn last spring... well, my hubby started the fire before I joined him outside, and I suddenly started smelling the smoke in my house and I ran around shutting them all off and making sure all of our windows and doors were closed. Anyways, after I did all that we didn’t have any lingering smoke smell in the house even though we burned basically the entire time we had daylight. (We don’t have a large property) So, I’d say we are pretty airtight.