Another shop question....

fred hargis

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1,245
Location
Wapakoneta, OH
Mike's question about size/heating/cooling of a shop got me to thinking (always a bad thing, but it's too cold to go do any work on the shop itself). Does anyone have an attic fan in their shop? I'm wondering if having one might make the uncomfortable days more livable. I suppose there are concerns like sucking the fine dust into the attic and others I haven't thought of, but maybe having an attic fan would keep me from needing an A/C unit. Thoughts?
 
No attic fan in my shop -- no attic. But I've also thought about an exhaust fan in one of the side walls to draw some of the dust and maybe some of the heat out .... My shop in Houston was a 9 x 11 garden shed in the back yard... I did install a small exhaust fan in that shop that worked to draw some of the heat out... it was on a thermostat control built into it that would kick the fan on as the temp rose... also drew some of the dust out.
 
Showing my redneck tendencies, we have a blower from a grain bin upstairs and on hot days we slide the upstairs patio door open and blow out the hot air (across the room are windows so good ventilation). Never thought 'til now that if we did it at night and pulled in cooler air and then closed the doors during the day how it would be although that blower is loud! Works wonders on the temps downstairs ( we do not have air conditioning in our home).
 
I have thought about it. My shop is in a pole building with the shop ceiling under the trusses. The space above the trusses gets hot during the Summer months. There is good insulation between the trusses which does keep the shop fairly cool until afternoon. I have wondered if a exhaust fan might slow down the heating up of the shop. I would think it will help. A low rpm fan might just exhaust enough of the heated air to keep the shop cooler for most of the day. I would however want to be able to close off the vent during the Winter months to hold as much heat in to slow down heat loss.
 
I just realized there are many type of attic fans, and I wasn't real clear on what I was thinking. I'm referring to the type mounted in the ceiling that would draw air though the shop and exhaust through the attic venting. Sorry, I knew what i meant...just didn't type it that way. I haven't seen too many of these lately, maybe they have fell out of favor. Paul's comment about a way to seal it has me wondering as well. The one we had in Kansas (mid 80's) came with a not-real-good seal; I'd sure want something better than that one.
 
Whole house fans were popular in my neighborhood in the eighties. Our neighbors had one and swore by it. In the evening when the outside air cools down and the house is still hot you opened the windows on lower floors and cranked up the whole house fan that was installed in the ceiling of the upstairs hallway. When the fan came on it's vents would open and it would suck in the cool outside air through the opened windows and exhaust the hot air into the attic. You just had to make sure the gable vents were large enough to handle the volume of air pushed out by the fan. When it shut off (on a timer), the vents would close. In the winter time you would go up in the attic and cover the fan opening with insulation batts, reversing the process before you turned the fan back on in the summer. They still make them and they are apparently a lot more efficient these days. If you have a lot of shop days where the shop is warmer than the outside air, one of these might work for you.
 
Took my ceiling fan out this past summer. Not the efficient in cooling the house and noisey. Put in rafters to fit and sheet rock. Whole house cooler and quieter. Just from extra insulation in attic. Have small fan in shop that moves air and dust out. Just a box fan in the window. Works OK except when 90 degrees.
David
 
Larry, I have insulated yet, still doing the wiring and other stuff. But I had the building built with 6" walls so I'll have R19 walls, and I hope to get at least R30 ceiling. Even with that much insulation (my last shop) it got a little uncomfortable on the hottest days, I'm thinking maybe the fan will make them tolerable.
 
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