Free heat in the winter?

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oldfart
Posts: 431
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 10:31 am

Hmmm..sometimes I think too much. Anyways. I have one of those digital thermometers that has a sending unit that yer supposed to put outdoors so ya know inside and outside temps. Seems like a good idea except in the wintertime the batteries croak from the cold outside. Excellent design..eh? Thank you Accrite/WalMart! Anyways..tucked the outdoor unit up into the "attic" via access at the furnace cabinet. ( Away from the furnace pipe as much as possible. ) Outside temp is 34deg...."attic" temp is 90/100deg. with the sun beating down on that big expanse of metal roof. Now, hindsight is 20/20 of course but here's a thought. Back when I did my remodel I ripped out every square inch of ceiling...end for end. Layed in new insulation to within' 4 in. of the roof. (to allow for air movement) I'm wondering now..what if? What if, when the ceiling was removed, I had suspended 4in. perf. drain pipe at the peak of the rafters in the attic..capped the ends and ran it into a "T" fitting and ran a single pipe down thru the ceiling and hooked it up to a reversed bathroom ceiling fan to draw all that wasted free heat into my home in the winter? Hmmm? It might have solved a major condensation problem as well. The design is simple enough..60ft. of 4in. perf. pipe, 1 (one) 4in. "T" fitting, 2 (two) 4in. end caps, 2ft. of solid 4in. pipe and a bathroom fan with the blade reversed on the shaft and a simple single-pole switch or a thermostat like my attic fan uses. Total expenditure..under $150. Possible fuel savings? Who knows? Well, I'm eyeballing that gable end fan and trying to figger out how hard it'd be to shove 60ft. of pipe thru that attic. Audie..the frugal Oldfart..:)
garrett_reukauf

Sounds like a great ingenius idea! You should post some pics if you have done this already or when you do do it. Let us know how it turns out....
What if you took a down draft type fan or some sort of bigger exhaust fan and mounted it in the ceiling. Had it rigged to blow all that attic air back in to the home. Would you really need all that PVC then? Just wondering. But sounds like a great idea, would definitely cut down on heating exp., if it worked like planned.
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Greg
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Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:01 pm
Location: Weedsport, NY

Why use Perferated pipe? try adding a seperate "intake pipe" at one end of the home and just let the air free flow to the exaust fan, that way you would not disturb the work you have already done. Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
RumCreeker
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Feb 26, 2007 10:27 pm

Sound like a good idea, however how about all of the small particles of insulation dust that may be sucked out of the attic and into your home. Would be nice to recover some of the heat that is traped above.
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Robert
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Posts: 6413
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 12:07 am
Location: Tennessee

You could filter the piping to prevent the insulation particles.

Several good added insights here and something really worth some thought.


I will say this, use it or get it out of that space or headaches are coming in your moldy future.


Getcha a bowl of clam chowder and mull it over another time er two er three. Heck, a second bowl may be in order, LOL.



Take care and best wishes,
Robert
Some people are Humbly Grateful, while some are Grumbly Hateful.................... Which one are you ?
Steve S.
Posts: 117
Joined: Sat Apr 21, 2007 7:41 pm
Location: Maine

Great idea Audie...I love it when ingenuity strikes :D :D !!
Actually I thought of this too when I had to remove my attic fan this past summer. The motor failed and just buzzed when the switch was on :( . I was thinking if you could reverse the fan direction in the winter you could send warm air into the home.
The volume of air is small in the attic space so you would soon remove all the hot air, so if you could rig the fan to a thermostat, so it would come on intermittently to let the attic air once again warm up before releasing it into the home.
I'm definitely going to give this :idea: a little more thought.
Is there a separate forum here for energy-saving ideas?? If not, it may be a good topic to initiate...esp. now with the price of fuel and everything else for that matter.
Steve S.
Posts: 117
Joined: Sat Apr 21, 2007 7:41 pm
Location: Maine

OK, I see the Alternative Energy forum now :wink: ...sorry, I guess I should look before I speak/write.
oldfart
Posts: 431
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 10:31 am

Hmmmmm? Reverse the attic fan and put positive air pressure inside the attic which would presumably force the warm air down and into the home via the furnace cabinet. Hmmmm? Dang! Less expensive..less twaddling about trying to shove 60ft. of pipe thru a 12X12 gable vent...no other fan needed. I like cheap! Free is better of course! Now...since I don't want to draw cold outside air in while trying to force the heated air down I need some sort of flaps on the gable openings to prevent that....not a problem..seen them at Lowes. One way louvers...works like a dryer vent. No electricity needed! AHA! But...I see a problem. The reason the attic fan is there in the first place is because when I have frost on top of my roof the fan MUST run at least until the sun melts the frost or I return to the same condensation problem I had before installing the fan. Last fall I almost lost my new drywall ceiling due to this problem. (As the roof heats up in direct sunlight condensation forms on the underside of the roof..the fan prevents this by moving the moist air out as it heats up. ) Hmmm?? But would reversing the fan and hooking it up to the thermostat that came with the fan (set at 90deg.) solve that problem and force the warm (moist) air into the home? Hmmm? Well it's time for another bowl of chowder and must get my crayons out and do some mapping of airflow. Perhaps I'm using this attic fan exactlly the opposite of which I should be using it. Instead of exhausting the warm moist air outside I should be forcing it inside! In the immortal words of Arnold Sscharwsaneggear (can anyone spell his name)..."I'll be back!" YMHS..Audie..the Oldfart..
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Robert
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Posts: 6413
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 12:07 am
Location: Tennessee

Getting the heat is good, getting the moisture with it is very bad.


Yes, you will have to continue removing the air from attic to prevent consensation problems.



If brought into home, need way, such as de-humidifier to rid home of humidity it will absorb.



Take care and best wishes,
Robert
Some people are Humbly Grateful, while some are Grumbly Hateful.................... Which one are you ?
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