Hunter Ceiling Fan

I just threw the box away, so I can't remember the model number of this Hunter fan. We've had these fans installed for about 9 months now and they live up to their name and cost. They are more pricey than a cheapy Wal-Mart fan - which we own as well (its much more noisy and the light occasionally rattles). These Hunter Fans are really quiet, just like they claim to be. I love having a remote for the light and fan as well.

The only issue I have with these fans is we have a second one upstairs and they are on the same frequency. When you turn the switch on - the light comes on and not the fan. They took a little bit to get used to, meaning:

If I had the fan on light on downstairs and wanted to turn the light off upstairs it will turn both off. Or if I want to turn the fan on upstairs, but wanted to leave the light on downstairs, you have to turn the light off downstairs using the remote, then flip the switch upstairs, then push the light button on the remote to turn the light off on one and on for the other. That all probably doesn't make sense.

SO, here's the FUNNY part about these fans. I'm a really light sleeper... At night if I have the fan running while we sleep, I will hear a *click* and then see light. I open my eyes and the light is on and the fan is slowing down. WHAT??!! Why did it just shut itself off and turn the light on!??? One night it did this twice to me (only to me because Doug can sleep through it)...while trying to sleep and being really annoyed with the fan I could hear a train in the distance. Sure enough, a train went by on a 3rd occasion and guess what?? I hear *click* and the light is on again and the fan is slowing down. WAIT, WHAT?? The train runs on that frequency too??? Or it was quite a coincidence. Doug was going to change the frequency it runs on, but that requires taking the fan down from the ceiling, so we're just dealing with it and don't run them at night.

**I even tried to see if the remote would turn lights on in the neighbor's homes to make sure I wasn't crazy thinking a train was turning our fan of and light on.

I really do like these fans. And it makes for a funny train story.

Whole House Fan

July 3rd 2009 we installed an AirScape Whole House Fan

http://www.airscapefans.com/

We chose the 2.5 WHF and here are the specifications:
2516 CFM
for houses up to 3500 sq ft
industrial-grade fan
quiet: just 53 dBA on high
automatic insulated doors
draws just 395 288 Watts
16 x 24 inch hi-flow grill
easy installation
wireless remote ready

$1099

We also purchased the wireless remote kit for $79 and an additional remote for $38 - just in case we lost one (we already lost one, but only for a few days).

The picture above shows the ducting that comes with the fan. The idea is to have the fan up and off the attic floor to reduce the noise, so it hangs from the rafters.

The installation took Doug and his dad about 6 hours in a really hot attic. The space was small and where he originally wanted the fan wasn't going to work because of a light fixture.It's been a great fan to have. You can see the grating in the photo above, it's half the size of our air conditioner; it really just looks like another vent in the ceiling. I almost wish it was louder so I'd know it was working like a jet engine, but it's pretty quiet for the amount of air it's pulling - it's much quieter than a box fan or even the oscillating fan we use. I'm a very light sleeper and although this is just outside our bedroom door, I'm able to sleep while it's running. The only noise we really hear is when the shutters are opening and closing.

I'm VERY happy we chose to purchase the remote kit. When you buy the remote kit at the same time as the fan (recommended) they will send the fan with the remote already installed in the fan; all you have to do is click the buttons to turn it on low, high or off. There was no wiring or electric work to deal with. There is even a timer button, each click on the remote tells it to run for 2 hour blocks (up to 12 hours).

It costs quite a bit more than the fans you can pick up at Lowe's or Home Depot, but after checking out many fans and many reviews we didn't like how loud the other fans were, not to mention there were many complaints that the fans only lasted a couple years.

AirScape has installation videos as well as customer service and tech support available for anything you need. I've called their customer service a few times, not fan related, and they've been great every time.

Don't forget to check your utility company for rebates, we got a $100 rebate.

One last thing: I really like that AirScape also sends an extra box with a UPS label so you can send the packaging foam back to reduce landfill and cost.