That cheap attic fan I bought on Kijiji actually cut my July cooling bill by 25%

I was super skeptical at first, thought it'd be a waste of $60 and just blow hot air around. Installed it in my Calgary bungalow's roof vent last June, wired it to a simple thermostat switch. Within 3 weeks our upstairs bedrooms went from sweltering to bearable without cranking the AC all night. Has anyone else tried a whole-house fan setup and seen real savings on their electricity bill?

3 comments

3 Comments

shane_hayes15d ago

Honestly that's awesome! I picked up a used one for my Winnipeg split level and it made a huge difference too. My wife was rolling her eyes when I showed her this janky old fan from some guy's garage but now she's the one turning it on every evening. The key is to open a window downstairs to pull the cool air through. I'd say we saved around 30 bucks a month during July and August compared to last year. It's not gonna replace AC completely but it definitely takes the edge off.

susansingh15d ago

Did you factor in the wear and tear on your furnace fan or just the hydro bill? Those things aren't cheap to replace when they burn out early.

karenb9715d agoMost Upvoted

Oh tell me about it, my neighbor had a furnace fan die midwinter and that was a brutal bill. @shane_hayes probably lucked out with that old janky find, but sometimes those cheap wins just kick the can down the road.