Whole House Fan
Whole House Fan
A whole house fan is a ceiling mounted fan that pulls cool outside air in through open windows and pushes the hot air trapped in your house out through the attic vents. It is not air conditioning and it does not replace it. In San Diego the evening air outside is usually cooler than the air your house has been holding since the afternoon, and the fan is what trades one for the other. Open a few windows, run the fan, and the house sheds that heat without the compressor doing the work. Sizing is done by the airflow the house needs rather than by room count, and the attic has to have enough vent area to exhaust it or the fan just fights itself. Eddie looks at the attic before any of it gets quoted.
Key Benefits
Our Process
Attic and joist survey
Ceiling joist spacing, attic clearance and existing vent area measured.
Airflow sizing
Required CFM calculated against the home's square footage and ceiling height.
Cut in and damper
Opening cut between joists, unit mounted, insulated damper fitted.
Airflow verification
Run with the windows set as you would use it, and airflow confirmed.
Why Choose CrossBreeze Heating & Air?
Trusted by homeowners across San Diego, the South Bay and East County.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a whole house fan and how does it work?
A whole house fan is a ceiling mounted fan that pulls cool outside air in through your open windows and pushes the hot air trapped in the house out through the attic vents. You open a few windows, run it for fifteen or twenty minutes, and the house dumps the heat it has been holding since the afternoon.
Does a whole house fan replace air conditioning?
No, and anyone who tells you it does is selling. It takes load off the air conditioning during the hours when San Diego evenings are already cooler than the inside of your house, which here is most of the year. On a genuinely hot afternoon you still want the AC.
How much does a whole house fan cost to run?
A fraction of what the compressor costs, because it is moving air rather than refrigerant. That is the whole economic case. On the many evenings when outside air is already cool enough, you are paying fan wattage instead of air conditioning wattage.
Will a whole house fan work in my house?
It depends on attic vent area more than anything else. The fan has to be able to exhaust what it moves or it just fights itself, so we measure existing vent area and ceiling joist spacing before quoting. Some houses need vent area added as part of the job.
What size whole house fan do I need?
Sizing is done by the airflow the house needs, calculated against square footage and ceiling height, not by counting rooms. Undersize it and it never clears the heat. Oversize it and you are pulling more air than the attic can vent.
What does a whole house fan installation in San Diego involve?
A whole house fan installation is usually a one day job for us. Eddie starts by checking your attic vent area and ceiling joist spacing, because the fan has to be able to exhaust everything it moves or it just fights itself. He mounts the fan in a central ceiling spot, wires it to a switch, and adds attic vent area if your house needs more of it to breathe. Across San Diego most homes are a straightforward install, and you get a straight number before any work starts.
Do you install whole house fans across San Diego?
Yes. We work out of Mira Mesa and install whole house fans across San Diego, including Rancho Penasquitos, Scripps Ranch, Poway, Chula Vista and the South Bay. CrossBreeze is Filipino owned, licensed under CSLB #1055889, and rated 5.0 from 26 Google reviews.
Whole House Fan Across San Diego County
We are based in Mira Mesa and provide whole house fan throughout San Diego, the South Bay and East County. Click your city for the local page.
Interested in Whole House Fan?
Tell us what the system is doing and Eddie will come out to look at it.
Call 760-715-0523