Right. You have a basement that acts as a heat sink, storing up coolness which you can pipe to the rest of the house.
We don't have basements where I live: the city sits on 500 feet of mud (well, clay - same thing).
e quoted text -
Humid air even if cool is uncomfortable, a basement can add a big load to the AC even if its cool because of its humidiy, but every house is different.
You are assuming the motor is fairly efficient. These three speed motors aren't designed for efficiency. The 1/4 or 1/3 hp rating is what's deliverd to the fan.
If you have a well balanced system, the most heat is delivered to the rooms that have the most heat loss.
The air you circulate when the furnace is off will be a room temperature. All you fan is doing is creating drafts.
I don't see how creating drafts would bring much peace of mind. Folks with gas heat typically pay less than $100/month for electric in winter. So your "peace of mind" is adding 9% (using your number) to you electric bill.
** Posted fromI have a ridge vent on a roof that was installed in late 01 along with the 3 existing gable vents. They all went through 3 hurricanes in 13 months. No problem..
If anything, one of the gable vents had some wind driven rain come in. Fema solved this with a vent shutter..
I believe that Pat hinted at something that no one else has said. Many people have commented on your question about running the fan 24/7, but no one specifically addressed the issue of "When it gets hot out, the a/c doesn't cool the upstairs well."
Besides the runing the fan 24/7 (which has been recommended to me by more than one HVAV contractor) there is also a need to rebalance (unbalance?) the system when you switch from heating to cooling. I close just about all of dampers in the ductwork for the basement and first floor ducts during the cooling season.
This forces the cold air to the registers on the second floor where it cools the bedrooms and bathrooms and then naturally sinks to the lower levels.
In addition to opening up the upper supply vents and closing the lower ones, you should do the same for the return grilles. By opening up the upper ones and closing the lower ones, you are pulling more heat and humidity out of the room. And since hot air naturally rises, it makes sense to have th upper ones do most of the work.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.