Furnace issue what is your opinion

stu2 · Post by **stu2** » Sun Jan 02, 2011 7:13 pm

I had the fan on my furnace set to AUTOso that the fan starts when the furnace starts a heating cycle. A friend said that it is better if the fan is set on RUN and it not much in electricly for the electric bill.
I'm sure that there are experienced home owners out there that are in the know.
TIA Stu.

Leatherneck · Post by **Leatherneck** » Sun Jan 02, 2011 7:21 pm

I've heard this argument before. I am not sure if having the air flowing through the ducts when the furnace kicks in is saving money or not but it has technical merit. My Amana dual stage kicks on the fan a few minutes before the burners and it's the best furnace I've owned. Not sure if the fan needs to run constantly though.
Maybe Al Gore can enlighten us.

Sava700 · Post by **Sava700** » Sun Jan 02, 2011 8:18 pm

Try it..but I tell ya that I have and what your going to do is just make yourself feel colder cause its constant flowing "neutral" or cool air till the heat kicks in. It works best in the summer time to be honest cause of that so unless you have another source of heat like a wood stove going then don't run it all the time in the winter. My dad does this since he has a wood stove going also so doing this circulates that very warm and radiant heat source.

RoundEye · Post by **RoundEye** » Sun Jan 02, 2011 11:40 pm

I don’t think there is any reason to have the fan on all the time. What’s his reasoning? Having it on all the time will raise your electric bill some.

In the summer it’s the compressor of the A\C kicking on and off that really raises your electric bill.

If he says it’s to keep your house warmer he’s wrong, does it help keep your house cooler in the summer?

I have a background in A\C but not heat.

Sava700 · Post by **Sava700** » Mon Jan 03, 2011 12:07 am

A friend of mine whom is very good in HVAC told me the fan uses about as much power as a regular box fan people put in their windows so there is no real harm in using it. However, its not going to keep you warmer unless your spreading warm air from a radiant source like a wood stove. It does help in the summer time though for keeping cool air moving.

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Mon Jan 03, 2011 5:35 am

It keeps the air in your rooms more even in temp, avoiding cold pockets. Plus it helps prevent the air volume that is in the ducts from getting cold..which would cause quite a chill if left unmoved and then turned on. That's an appreciable volume of air in those ducts going throughout your house. Those ducts are commonly up in the attic and down in the basement..where they cool down air in them if left unmoved.

The fan is substantially stronger than a window fan, it's usually a drum fan....with a fairly strong motor.....probably uses about what at least 6 window fans use.
Just a month ago I converted my first floor HVAC system to a high efficiency propane heat system with a 16r AC unit. Prior to that it was a heat pump with electric heat. My fans are on auto...and they cycle on every now and then even when the heat doesn't kick in. Awesome tax breaks when you do this. In a couple of years I'll do the second floor system.

blebs · Post by **blebs** » Mon Jan 03, 2011 5:40 am

The fan blower uses a good amount of electricity. I can vouch for that! I run my blower on automatic. It comes on and stays on as long as it's needed, then shuts down.