When it gets really cold, do you set the fan switch from "auto" to "on"? I do and it keeps all 3 levels of the house at the same temperature.
Running the Furnace Blower Constantly
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verizonbear
Well-known member
Furnance Fan
I am on the BGE Peak Rewards program and have one of those connected thermostats. There is a circulate setting for the blower that will cycle it on for 15 minutes every hour. It really does help keep the tempature balanced in the house. The only downside is you need to change your filter more frequently.
I am on the BGE Peak Rewards program and have one of those connected thermostats. There is a circulate setting for the blower that will cycle it on for 15 minutes every hour. It really does help keep the tempature balanced in the house. The only downside is you need to change your filter more frequently.
gusherb
Well-known member
When it gets really cold the furnace is running continuous anyway so I dont run it. I also don't run it because I don't want anything but warm air blowing out of those vents during the winter.
I did have my neighbor turn theirs on a couple winters in a row because their house had terrible ductwork and didn't heat very evenly due to that and high solar gain on one end of the house. They had a variable speed furnace so it just stayed on real low.
I did have my neighbor turn theirs on a couple winters in a row because their house had terrible ductwork and didn't heat very evenly due to that and high solar gain on one end of the house. They had a variable speed furnace so it just stayed on real low.
I only run the furnace blower constantly in the afternoon on really hot days when the house is closed up (we have no AC) so there's at least some air movement once the temperature inside goes above 80 or so.
The den/laundry room area here was converted from an attached garage and has a thermostatically controlled gas wall heater. Since it's a sunken room with a high ceiling, I have a small, quiet Vornado air circulator on its lowest speed aimed upward in a corner of the room. It runs off a handy GE lamp timer for intervals of 15 minutes on/15 minutes off. This eliminates the inversion layer effect that room always used to have in the past, which one couldn't help but notice at the top of the steps.
The den/laundry room area here was converted from an attached garage and has a thermostatically controlled gas wall heater. Since it's a sunken room with a high ceiling, I have a small, quiet Vornado air circulator on its lowest speed aimed upward in a corner of the room. It runs off a handy GE lamp timer for intervals of 15 minutes on/15 minutes off. This eliminates the inversion layer effect that room always used to have in the past, which one couldn't help but notice at the top of the steps.
norgeway
Well-known member
CAC
Or Constant Air Circulation as it was called in the 50s was very popular for several years, it works better with a belt drive blower you can slow down so you get very gentle air movement.
Or Constant Air Circulation as it was called in the 50s was very popular for several years, it works better with a belt drive blower you can slow down so you get very gentle air movement.
I also have the variable fan...
<span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;">...and mine runs constantly all the time all year round. This is what the HVAC guy told me to do when I replaced the system in 2008. He told me these particular units have fans designed to run all the time and they use about the energy of a 60W light bulb. </span>
<span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;">I have a large L shaped ranch. On one end is the kitchen and the other end the Master. I have always had an issue keeping the temps in those areas constant especially here in the south with the heat. Running the fan helps keep the temps constant. It runs so low you don't even hear it but when it calls for heat or air it slowly ramps up to the higher speed. Made a world of difference in my house.</span>
<span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;">...and mine runs constantly all the time all year round. This is what the HVAC guy told me to do when I replaced the system in 2008. He told me these particular units have fans designed to run all the time and they use about the energy of a 60W light bulb. </span>
<span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;">I have a large L shaped ranch. On one end is the kitchen and the other end the Master. I have always had an issue keeping the temps in those areas constant especially here in the south with the heat. Running the fan helps keep the temps constant. It runs so low you don't even hear it but when it calls for heat or air it slowly ramps up to the higher speed. Made a world of difference in my house.</span>
If ducted heating was something of a necessity where I lived (it *IS* where I've just moved to), then yes, it would be a sensible idea just to prevent hot/cold spots.
One thing I don't like heating "just one room" with room-heater devices like mini-splits is you end up with cold hallways, hot rooms and anything in between. No thanks.
In the summertime, with refrigerated A/C, the fan is never set to continuous as even in the dryest weather, it substantially increases the humidity in the house from 35-40% to anywhere north of 45%. This significantly reduces comfort when the A/C is kept at a higher temperature such as 80ºF.
In this situation, using a small desk fan is favourable if you need the continuous air movement.
The other thing was that we setup our central A/C to push more air to the bedrooms, which tend to stay warm otherwise. They now keep up to a 1-2º cooler than the lounge/kitchen/dining where the thermostat is*. Added benefit is that the system doesn't short cycle as much and the longer running times keep things dryer as a result. We'll just ignore that it increases the noise level from a deep rumble and "rattle" in the vents to something that sounds like an arctic storm howling in the lounge.**
In the new (old) house I'm in back in the city, we have ducted evaporative A/C. No choice but to have continuous fanning, although the system works far better than I remember evaporative cooling. Added benefit is house naturally stays fresh due to the continuous fresh air intake, so odours are easily expelled from the house as a result.
Wood-fired heating, as is typical in many parts of Australia.
Phew, what a post.
*Thermostat should've been in the hallway where the returns are, not in the central living area that one huge wall outlet and a smaller ceiling outlet for the kitchen.
** If I ever got my hands on the idiots that designed that system...
One thing I don't like heating "just one room" with room-heater devices like mini-splits is you end up with cold hallways, hot rooms and anything in between. No thanks.
In the summertime, with refrigerated A/C, the fan is never set to continuous as even in the dryest weather, it substantially increases the humidity in the house from 35-40% to anywhere north of 45%. This significantly reduces comfort when the A/C is kept at a higher temperature such as 80ºF.
In this situation, using a small desk fan is favourable if you need the continuous air movement.
The other thing was that we setup our central A/C to push more air to the bedrooms, which tend to stay warm otherwise. They now keep up to a 1-2º cooler than the lounge/kitchen/dining where the thermostat is*. Added benefit is that the system doesn't short cycle as much and the longer running times keep things dryer as a result. We'll just ignore that it increases the noise level from a deep rumble and "rattle" in the vents to something that sounds like an arctic storm howling in the lounge.**
In the new (old) house I'm in back in the city, we have ducted evaporative A/C. No choice but to have continuous fanning, although the system works far better than I remember evaporative cooling. Added benefit is house naturally stays fresh due to the continuous fresh air intake, so odours are easily expelled from the house as a result.
Wood-fired heating, as is typical in many parts of Australia.
Phew, what a post.
*Thermostat should've been in the hallway where the returns are, not in the central living area that one huge wall outlet and a smaller ceiling outlet for the kitchen.
** If I ever got my hands on the idiots that designed that system...
We had a old Homart octopus in our basement as a kid and when it got real hot, Ma would go in the basement, open the blower door, turn the blower on and it would take the cooler air up thru the ducts, worked for about an hour but was not central a/c. I have hot water baseboard so its fans or a window a/c now.
I don't run the furnace fan constant during the winter or summer.
I do see however this is a plus with the new Furnaces with the DC fan motor's and two and three stage burners that lower the output BTU's. Everyone that has this system that works as it should raves at the nice even heat and cool during the seasons.
I would say if it works for you do it.
I do see however this is a plus with the new Furnaces with the DC fan motor's and two and three stage burners that lower the output BTU's. Everyone that has this system that works as it should raves at the nice even heat and cool during the seasons.
I would say if it works for you do it.
I've run the blower on occasion at night during cold weather when a ceiling fan isn't practical, for the white noise not so much for the circulation (never during cooling season due to the humidity increase factor). Recent years I've instead been running a Vornado in the bedroom with the fan set to High.
My forced air furnace is not set up for fan only. If it were, I might run it in the summer, but during the winter, no. Because the ducting runs under the floor in the crawl space, which is unheated, with only 1" of duct insulation, and would result in a net loss of heat in the conditioned space. In the summer it's possible the cooler air in the crawl might help cool down the rest of the house.
On the other hand, electricity is expensive around here. The current fan probably uses a couple hundred watts to run. It's one speed, you see.
On the other hand, electricity is expensive around here. The current fan probably uses a couple hundred watts to run. It's one speed, you see.
Always on
I have a HEPA add-on to the furnace, so the blower remains on...
I have a HEPA add-on to the furnace, so the blower remains on...
vacerator
Well-known member
Furnace blower, cont.
I would only use it in stay on mode if I burn food to clear smoke or odors.
My furnace is variable speed, so the blower works in unison with the two stage regulator burner, or the also variable speed A/C unit.
The blower always runs on a very slow speed to circulate fresh air through the heap filter.
I would only use it in stay on mode if I burn food to clear smoke or odors.
My furnace is variable speed, so the blower works in unison with the two stage regulator burner, or the also variable speed A/C unit.
The blower always runs on a very slow speed to circulate fresh air through the heap filter.
I have a free standing wood stove in the living room of my L shaped Ranch (the living room WAS the Garage in an earlier incarnation). With the Main return in the living room and the furnace at the other end of the house, I turn on the fan to ON when I crank up the wood stove during cold spells of below 25*F. I keep it stoked fairly hot and the living room gets to about 95* so the circulating air will warm up the rest of the house in about 6-8 hours. Once I get that, I can tone down the fire in the stove, and just keep it at a low fire. It keeps the bedrooms and baths at about 80*, and even the basement is a 1/2 decent 74*. I go thru about 2 cords a winter. I also keep a large 5 gallon stock pot filled with water on the top to humidify the house as it gets very dry during the winter.
I have a Trane XV90, and I run the blower all the time in the winter, keep the house very even in temps, and as many said, the variable speed blower runs slow, and don't hear it.
The first summer of it, I ran it for a few days, and the humidity really shot up! (Wet coil and when ti warms up after the A/C turns off, humidity get dumped back into the air from the coil)
The first summer of it, I ran it for a few days, and the humidity really shot up! (Wet coil and when ti warms up after the A/C turns off, humidity get dumped back into the air from the coil)
Yup, CAC is the way to go
Been using CAC for over a decade, electronically controlled motor is running all the time at low speed just as Chachp described. Works perfectly. I have a large 2 story home with a finished basement, so 3 floors of space are heated. I can go just about anywhere in the house and the temp is the same. No cold spots, no drafts just comfort.
I spent a month with relative out east with hot water heat, really disliked it. The house was very dry, heat was stratified, I slept on an air mattress on the floor and was chilly at night, but if I stood up it was quite hot in the room. I had my own zone and kept the temp at 78 and was still cold in bed. Here at home I keep the temp in the low 60's and walk around in shorts all winter.
Been using CAC for over a decade, electronically controlled motor is running all the time at low speed just as Chachp described. Works perfectly. I have a large 2 story home with a finished basement, so 3 floors of space are heated. I can go just about anywhere in the house and the temp is the same. No cold spots, no drafts just comfort.
I spent a month with relative out east with hot water heat, really disliked it. The house was very dry, heat was stratified, I slept on an air mattress on the floor and was chilly at night, but if I stood up it was quite hot in the room. I had my own zone and kept the temp at 78 and was still cold in bed. Here at home I keep the temp in the low 60's and walk around in shorts all winter.
As I smoke in my room (the hotel manager authorized me to smoke if I continue doing that discreetly and no more than a few cigarretes per day and also always using the Ecolab anti-smoke odor spray that is amazing), I keep the fan on 24/7 and the filters are HEPA + charcoal.
It's amazing, my room doesn't smell like cigarrette at all. One of the receptionists became my friend and sometimes she comes here when i invite her to eat something i cooked. She hates cigarrettes at all and she can notice it from miles away from her. She said my room smells better than any other rooms in this hotel.
It's amazing, my room doesn't smell like cigarrette at all. One of the receptionists became my friend and sometimes she comes here when i invite her to eat something i cooked. She hates cigarrettes at all and she can notice it from miles away from her. She said my room smells better than any other rooms in this hotel.
