Cooling Your Home with Fans and Ventilation
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DOE/GO-102001-1278 FS228 June 2001 Cooling Your Home with Fans and Ventilation You can save energy and money when Principles of Cooling you ventilate your home instead of using your air conditioner, except on the hottest Cooling the Human Body days. Moving air can remove heat from Your body can cool down through three your home. Moving air also creates a wind processes: convection, radiation, and per- chill effect that cools your body. spiration. Ventilation enhances all these processes. Ventilation cooling is usually combined with energy conservation measures like Convection occurs when heat is carried shading provided by trees and window away from your body via moving air. If the treatments, roof reflectivity (light-colored surrounding air is cooler than your skin, roof), and attic insulation. Mechanical air the air will absorb your heat and rise. As circulation can be used with natural venti- the warmed air rises around you, cooler air lation to increase comfort, or with air con- moves in to take its place and absorb more ditioning for energy savings. of your warmth. The faster this convecting air moves, the cooler you feel. Ventilation provides other benefits besides cooling. Indoor air pollutants tend to accu- Radiation occurs when heat radiates mulate in homes with poor ventilation, and across the space between you and the when homes are closed up for air condi- objects in your home. If objects are tioning or heating. warmer than you are, heat will travel toward you. Removing heat through ventila- tion reduces the tem- perature of the ceiling, walls, and furnishings. The cooler your sur- roundings, the less heat you’ll attract, and the more of your own excess heat you’ll lose. Perspiration can be uncomfortable, and many people would prefer to stay cool without it. However, during hot weather and physical exercise, perspiration is the body’s powerful cool- ing mechanism. Ceiling fans distribute cool air, making cooling equipment more efficient. This document was produced for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a DOE national laboratory. The document was produced by the Information and Outreach Program at NREL for the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Clearinghouse (EREC) is operated by NCI Information Systems, Inc., for NREL / DOE. The statements contained herein are based on information known to EREC and NREL at the time of printing. No recommendation or endorsement of any product or service is implied if mentioned by EREC. Printed with a renewable-source ink on paper containing at least 50% wastepaper, including 20% postconsumer waste As moisture leaves your skin pores, it car- Natural Ventilation ries a lot of heat with it, cooling your body. If a breeze (ventilation) passes over Natural ventilation relies on the wind and your skin, that moisture will evaporate the “chimney effect” to keep a home cool. Install additional attic more quickly, and you’ll be even cooler. The wind will naturally ventilate your insulation, How Heat Accumulates home by entering or leaving windows, depending on their orientation to the Heat accumulates in homes from several a reflective roof, wind. When wind blows against your sources and can make indoor tempera- home, air is forced into your windows. tures higher than outdoors even in the and sun-blocking Heat accumulates in your home during hottest weather. Solar energy—which the day, and the cool night air can flush it enters a home primarily through the roof window treatments. out. For drier climates, this will mean ven- and windows—is a major source of tilating at night, and closing doors, win- unwanted heat in most climates. Appli- dows, and window coverings during the ances, lights, and occupants generate heat day. This may not apply in humid cli- as well. mates. Depending on the house design and wind direction, a windbreak—like a To use ventilation instead of air condition- fence, hedge, or row of trees that blocks ing for cooling, you should prevent heat the wind —can force air either into or from entering and accumulating in your away from nearby windows. Wind mov- home as much as possible. Some preven- ing along a wall creates a vacuum that tive measures include installing additional pulls air out of the windows. attic insulation, a reflective roof, awnings, and sun-blocking window treatments. The chimney effect occurs when cool air Operational changes—such as reducing enters a home on the first floor or base- the use of appliances, lighting, and hot ment, absorbs heat in the room, rises, and water—will also reduce accumulated heat. exits through upstairs windows. This cre- ates a partial vacuum, which pulls more When you’ve prevented as much heat air in through lower-level windows. accumulation as you can, develop a venti- lating strategy. Natural ventilation works best in climates with cool summers or cool nights and reg- ular breezes. Using Windows and Doors for Cross-Ventilation You can create natural cross-ventilation by opening your windows and doors, and adjusting the size and location of the open- ings to ventilate different parts of the home. Inlets and outlets located directly opposite each other cool only those areas in between, in the direct path of the airflow. You'll cool more of your home if you force the air to take a longer path between the inlet and outlet. Use smaller window openings for the inlets and larger open- ings for the outlets. This increases air speed and improves the cooling effect. Air from cooler, shaded outdoor areas provides the best intake air. Experiment with different patterns of win- dow venting to move fresh outside air Fig. 1 Use windows and doors for cross-ventilation. 2 through all the living areas of your home. This may involve leaving some windows closed if they interfere with air moving along a longer path through the home. Attic Ventilation Solar heat travels in through the roof and radiates into the attic. Attic ventilation reduces attic temperature 10 to 25 degrees and slows the transfer of heat into the living space. However, the most effective way to reduce attic heat is to prevent it from entering in the first place with a reflective roof. Also very important is having at least a foot of attic insulation. Mechanical Ventilation When you know how air moves naturally through your home, you can then opti- Table fans provide refreshing breezes. mize your mechanical ventilation. In warmer climates, natural ventilation can’t circulate enough air through a home Install a fan in each room that needs to be to provide sufficient cooling at night to cooled during hot weather. Fans work best remove the day’s heat. Mechanical ventila- when the blades are 7 to 9 feet above the tion can provide continuously moving air floor and 10 to 12 inches below the ceiling. that will keep your home cooler, day and Fans should be installed so their blades night, with circulating fans, whole-house are no closer than 8 inches from the ceiling fans, and/or evaporative coolers. and 18 inches from the walls. Circulating fans cre- The quality and energy efficiency of these Larger ceiling fans can move more air than devices varies widely. Shop carefully—it smaller fans. A 36- or 44-inch-diameter fan ate a wind chill effect might be best to buy from a dealer who will cool rooms up to 225 square feet, specializes in fans rather than from a while fans that are 52 inches or more to make you more department store. should be used in larger rooms. Multiple fans work best in rooms longer than 18 comfortable. feet. Small- and medium-sized fans will Circulating Fans provide efficient cooling in a 4- to 6-foot Circulating fans include ceiling fans, table diameter area, while larger fans are effec- fans, floor fans, window fans, and fans tive up to 10 feet. mounted to poles or walls. These fans cre- ate a wind chill effect that will make you A larger blade will also provide compara- more comfortable in your home, even if ble cooling at a lower velocity than a it's also cooled by natural ventilation or air smaller blade. This may be important in conditioning. areas where loose papers or other objects will be disturbed by a strong breeze. The Ceiling Fans fan should also be fitted to the aesthetics of the room—a large fan may appear over- If you use air conditioning, a ceiling fan powering in a small room. will allow you to raise the thermostat set- ting about 4˚F with no reduction in com- A more expensive fan that operates fort. In temperate climates, or during quietly and smoothly will probably offer moderately hot weather, ceiling fans may more trouble-free service than cheaper allow you to avoid using your air condi- units. Check the noise ratings, and, if pos- tioner altogether. sible, listen to your fan in operation before you buy it. 3 Whole-House Fans Fan Noise Levels A whole-house fan can substitute for an • When shopping for circulating fans, be air conditioner most of the year in most sure to test the fan for noise. Listen to climates. Whole-house fans combined the different qualities of each fan’s with ceiling fans and portable fans pro- sound. Fans also will be marked with vide acceptable summer comfort for many their rated noise level, measured in families, even in hot weather. “sones.” Very quiet fans are rated at 1.5 sones. Some are so quiet, they’re How Whole-House Fans Work rated as low as 0.5 to 1 sones.