Sweet score today on fans...now how do I use them?

[the_dude]

Sorry to start yet another thread on moving heat around the house, but I wasn't sure about how these forums view hijacking someone else's thread.

Anyway, I went to Wal-mart today looking for some fans on sale to move some heat around, hopefully getting some into the basement this winter. I got a pretty good score. I purchased 3 Lakewood 45" tower fans. They were normally $56, I got them from $21. Now, how do I use them?

My house is a ranch, with a large loft. The fireplace is on the south wall of the home, with high ceilings above. There is a ceiling fan above the fireplace, which I plan to utilize. There is also a ceiling fan in the loft which will get used. The basement door is just on the other side of the family room, about 15' from the fireplace. The stairs have a 90 halfway down. I'm uncertain if I should try to blow the cool air up the stairs, or warm air down? Any advice would be appreciated. I also picked up a $10 wireless indoor/outdoor thermometer. I plan on putting the outside sensor in my basement so I can easily monitor the temp down there.

 

[smokinj]

I would try to pull cool air to the stove

 

[karl]

I have a ranch house and attached is a picture of where I place my fans. The three drawn in red are just where I like them and work great. The two in blue, aren't actually two fans. It's one fan that I have tried in two diferent places. I think it works best in the dining room, but I don't need it unless it's really cold out.

As far as heat down stairs, I can't help you there.

 

[Henz]

I gotta get some too

 

[tkirk22]

This is slightly off subject but how loud are those fans?

 

[the_dude]

The ones I just purchased are pretty quiet. I would say much quiter than a box fan or standard round pedestal fan.

So no one has any advice on trying to blow hot air down stairs vs trying to blow cool air up?

 

[DiscoInferno]

The ones I just purchased are pretty quiet. I would say much quiter than a box fan or standard round pedestal fan.

So no one has any advice on trying to blow hot air down stairs vs trying to blow cool air up?

I don't think anyone here knows how to reverse the laws of physics. Neither option seems likely to work, as you'll never get enough pressure differential in an open stairwell to offset the density difference of hot and cold air. A sealed duct with a blower into the basement could do what you want (I have one on my Ultima) but you need to get the kit for the fireplace if offered. (And it would have been a lot easier to install before finishing the fireplace install.) Just cutting a hole in the floor is typically not allowed by code and is considered unsafe on here, unless you install fire dampers.

 

[karl]

Kirk, they are pretty quiet. They are a squirrel cage fan not a propellor fan. On one, you have to listen to try and hear them. On two you can hear them but they are still very quiet. On three, they make a little noise, though still quieter than the fan on my insert. I would say on three they are a little louder than a box fan on low.

 

[tkirk22]

The ones I just purchased are pretty quiet. I would say much quiter than a box fan or standard round pedestal fan.

So no one has any advice on trying to blow hot air down stairs vs trying to blow cool air up?

I don't think you will be able to do that with a regular fan. What could possibly work is to put a register high up a wall in the stove room and force air down into the basement through a duct. Then you will probably need a similar setup to pull cold air off the basement floor and put it in the stove room.

Take note though: People will say it won't work and they may very well be right. There's also the question about code compliance.

Personally, I use the AC system in fan mode to cool off the stove room and help move the excess heat around the house. It works in my situation but others report negative results. BTW, all the air in my setup moves through the basement air handler unit.