Solatube^®
Whole House Fan

Thermal mass refers to a characteristic of building material that allows it to store and release heat energy into the surrounding area.

At any given time, materials like concrete and wood—as well as objects like couches and carpeting—store a certain amount of heat given to them by the air. In the summer when it’s hotter outside, a home heats up because many of the materials inside of it are holding onto some of that heat.

As a whole house fan runs throughout the evening (usually it’s colder outside than inside during the nighttime), it is continually pulling heat out of the mass around the home. As it pulls out trapped heat in the home, it simultaneously pulls in cooler air from outside.

This is what “thermal mass cooling” refers to—the cycle of pulling out heat that materials around the home have absorbed in order to lower the overall temperature.

A Whole House Fan, when utilized properly, saves money by cooling the home using the natural temperature outside, rather than constantly running electricity to push internal air to lower temperatures.

As the fan pulls cold air into your home, it’s also expelling heat that’s trapped inside. With a traditional HVAC system, you would need to run electricity to power the cooling system throughout the day in order to achieve a lower temperature.

Having a Whole House Fan allows you to utilize pre-existing cold air from outside to drop the internal temperature of your home naturally. This means if it warms up outside later in the day, you won’t have to run the A/C all day and night to achieve the same, consistent temperature. The cost of having to run your HVAC system less frequently adds up in the long run.

Yes, The Solatube® Whole House Fan comes in four separate models which are each designed to accommodate the air flow in a home, based off of the home’s square footage.

The models are as follows:

● Model 1500: For homes up to 1000 sq. feet

● Model 3000: For homes between 1000 and 2000 sq. feet

● Model 4500: For homes between 2000 and 3000 sq. feet

● Model 6000: For homes greater than 3000 sq. feet

Upon an initial commitment-free consultation, our contractors will determine the recommended system and configuration that works best for your home. For larger spaces, we can even combine models to optimize the airflow benefits of the Whole House Fan.

With traditional HVAC systems, your home is constantly recycling the same air without allowing any fresh air to come inside. Therefore, as you trap in the air, you’re also trapping in all of the odors and dust.

Use of a Whole House Fan requires fresh outdoor air (by means of an open window) to come into the home, creating a route for stale air to escape. As the thermal cooling process takes place, heat and odors from thermal mass like furniture and carpeting are also pulled from circulation.

Unless you have allergies caused by airborne substances such as pollen, a Whole House Fan will improve your air quality by consistently introducing fresh outdoor air while giving recirculated air the chance to exit the home.

The Solatube® Whole House Fan will remain quiet while it’s in operation. Rest assured that the ducting on the fan is well-insulated to absorb the noise that traditional fans create.

Another feature that reduces noise is the HushMount™ technology that is incorporated into the fan system. HushMount™ technology eliminates the noise by absorbing the vibration of the system, resulting in a significant decrease in the sounds you might hear—especially when compared with older fans.

These fans are also usually placed in the attic where the system is farther away from common areas, ensuring that the fan doesn’t cause the same kind of noise that a ceiling or box fan might.

Yes, Whole House Fans are quite easy to clean. The Solatube® Whole House Fan does not have several different bits of hardware that require frequent attention.

The intake grill where all of the air filters through from the indoors is easy to remove. Even better, you can run the grill through your dishwasher for easy cleaning.

Other than the intake grill piece which contains any of the dirt that is filtered through the air coming inside, there is not much to clean besides wiping down the damper box. Since it is not a high-traffic area, the damper box should only need to be wiped down once or twice a year.