QuietcoolQC CL-5400 Original Classic Fan Model

More power than you need. We have a 5025 sq foot house and this cools it all down. I connected this to the outlet in the attic and put a "iFymei Smart switch" on it. It is a way better option than dropping the power down the wall. Only negative is we have one speed, high! We now have a smart fan controlled by alexa or an app. I have it auto on at 8:15pm, off at 10 then on again 4am to 5am. Good combo to suck all the heat out of our Colorado home. We have several vents in our attic and the overhangs have holes. So we get max performance for sure. This is one thing YOU need to check before installing a whole house fan, also do you have an outlet box in your attic? It only took a few hours to install. Hardest thing is to know where to install the intake. Go into your attic and see where it could possibly go before you buy. I can hear the fan but it is not disrupting loud like the cheaper $250 type fans (like I had at my old house). Plus these have a damper so they are insulated year round. This review is based off the CL-4700 cost of $950 from a third party seller on Amazon. Received in 6 days.

Your browser does not support HTML5 video.  So, after purchasing my latest home I was pleasantly surprised to see the previous owners had installed a whole house fan. In a nut shell, a whole house fan draws warm air out of the house by way of sucking cooler air from outside thru your open windows and door and exhaust it all up into your attic and eventually back outside thru whatever type of attic venting system your home may have.I decided to replace what the home had to see if I could get something more efficient and quieter; in steps the Quiet Cool QC CL-4700 Original Classic Fan.Let's briefly discuss some of the things that made this product an item I knew I had to have in my home.PRICE: At just under a thousand dollars the price point for the product and concept is actually reasonable and when you add the savings achievable with this fan over a specified amount of time; it just makes sense. Add the cost benefits of running your A/c unit less and this item kinda becomes a no brainer.INSTALLATION: For me, this was an easy install. Minus the fact it's heavy and awkward to do by yourself, because I have a full attic that I can easily stand up in and then some - working room was not an issue for me. Plenty of space to easily access, work on and install this puppy. The instructions are relatively easy to comprehend and mine came pre-wired to plug right into a standard 110v/120v house outlet. I chose to wire it in like the previous house fan so that was a simple conversion. Tools needed for the install are minimal and basic; wire cutters, pliers, power drill/driver, tape measure and that's basically it. I've included a number of photos so you can see what I had and the transformation.SOUND/AESTHETICS: So let me just say this by itself easily gives this product 4 stars. I went from what sounded like listening to a "little bird"(Helo) landing on my roof to a fan that's no louder (on high) to an ordinary mid size room fan. TALK ABOUT A DIFFERENCE. The specs say its at about 50 decibels, but my sound meter had it averaging on high between 43-48 and on low it was below 37!!! Laymen's terms; I can have a normal volume conversation on the telephone standing directly beneath the intake dampers and NOT miss a single word!!!:-) And the new ceiling vent that's located in my hallway......it's half the size of the previous house fan vent, looks cleaner, crisper, slimmer and has basically become almost unnoticeable.OPERATION: Once wired in, this thing is as easy operating as opening a door:-) I installed a two-rocker switch set-up, so one rocker is for high and the other is for low speed fan operation. that's it folks - simple. In operation the dampers in the included ceiling grate open and close on their own. So no loss of heat thru the grate and no chance of stale back draft coming from the attic thru the system. Although I do not have the timer edition for this system my fan has more than adequately done its job. And I can attest to it working very well during the fall season as there have been nights here in NC where I have had to get up during the night to turn the fan off because it has cooled the house so well that it's actually to cool/cold.LONGEVITY: I'll update again in about 9 months but so far I've had this fan installed for 3 months and it runs both smoothly and quietly. The fact that QuietCool offers such a great warranty; QuietCool offers an industry leading 10‐year warranty. That's the peace-of-mind perk:-) knowing that if something goes wrong while under warranty I can expect the company to stand behind their product.So that's it folks. I'm very happy that I went with this unit, it's performing above my expectations and as a DiYer, this was a project I was able to handle on my own and the finished results are fantastic:-)Hope this review helps you in your decision.

Climate and Economic ConsiderationsI live in San Diego, California within eyesight of the Pacific Ocean. The night air here is a comfortable temperature even on the hottest days, only rarely staying muggy through the night. Our electric power costs are outrageous: I pay 27 cents per KWh for the first 334 KWh, then the costs jumps to 48 cents. Beyond 1,080 KWh in a given billing cycle, the rate increases to 55 cents.My electric bill for 7/1- 8/8 this year showed 610 KWh of usage with a cost of $233.86, by far the highest I have had to pay since I had 2.5 KW worth of rooftop solar panels installed in 2010. At 2:00 AM the day after I received that bill, it was 84 degrees in most of my house while two small window A/C units were struggling to keep sleeping areas tolerable. Outside, it was about 75 degrees. At that moment I decided to take a serious look at whole-house fans. I did the math, and in under an hour I determined that the QuietCool CL-3100 was the right size for my house and would probably pay for itself in two years or less! My sleep-deprived, heat-addled brain was stunned by this revelation at 3:00 AM. I finally got some sleep, and by 8:00 AM I ordered the system after drinking my daily coffee and reviewing the numbers.This type of system definitely makes sense in coastal Southern California. It might not be as good a fit for a climate that has hot, humid nights and less expensive power. As an example I looked at Houston, TX and was shocked to see that people typically pay between about 7 and 12 cents per KWh. I've spent enough time there to know that the summer night air is often uncomfortably hot. I do not believe that a whole-house fan would be as beneficial there as it is in San Diego, though it might be useful during spring and fall months.InstallationThis fan system is well-made, easy for a handy person (like me) to install, and moves a lot of air. Rated at 320 watts (on the high speed setting) it uses a fraction of the power of two small window air conditioners I have been using for several years, which are rated at 520 watts each. I haven't done the permanent wiring yet, but the mechanical installation took me just four hours without assistance from cracking open the manual to having a running fan system in my attic. I expect to spend a total of about 3-4 hours installing the proper wiring, including drywall repair and paint. I plan to tap into an existing circuit as the power source.I considered knocking off one-half star for the manufacturer not including some items that are essential for a proper installation of this system, specifically a single-pole, double-throw switch, a countdown timer, a length of armored cable, and a second metal handy box and cable clamps that a typical installation will require. OTOH one size would not fit all situations. Some might prefer to install the fan on a 20-amp circuit, so the switch rating, cable gauge and length, etc. are not predictable. Therefore this fan gets the full five stars.THE DOCUMENTATION THAT COMES WITH THIS FAN IS VERY GOOD. IT IS AVAILABLE ONLINE FOR FREE. READ IT AND WATCH THE MANUFACTURER'S VIDEOS BEFORE YOU BUY AND AGAIN BEFORE YOU BEGIN INSTALLATION!!!My wiring project took longer than expected because I had to get into a difficult area of my attic and drill a hole in a top plate, but it came out fine and I didn't burn down my house or get electrocuted.Factors to consider - Think carefully and do the math!Anyone who is contemplating this type of fan should carefully consider the applicability of a whole-house fan to your specific situation:- Is the night air after a hot day sufficiently cool to make you comfortable if you pull it into your living space?- How much per month are you spending on air conditioning?- How many nights per year would a whole-house fan work as well as or better than your A/C, and what is the expected cost savings of running the fan instead of A/C?- Does your attic have sufficient out-flow ventilation such as gable vents, turrets, etc.? If not, you should take into consideration the cost of upgrading your ventilation. A whole-house fan cannot operate efficiently without adequate attic ventilation. The information for determining this is available on QuietCool's Web site.- How big is your house (square feet of living space?) This is important in deciding which model of fan to buy.- Are you capable of doing the mechanical installation yourself, or with a helpful friend, or will you need to hire someone? The fan with including ducting is rather heavy and unwieldy. Lifting it into the attic was the only part of my installation where an assistant would have been very helpful. (I'm 60 years old and have to admit that this installation would have been a lot easier 20 years ago.)- Are you proficient at electrical wiring? If not, prepare to enlist the services of a kind friend or a professional. (I happen to be very comfortable with it, and have re-wired most of my house.)In summary, buying and installing a QuietCool fan was such an obviously beneficial decision given my locale and the construction of my house. My only regret is not having done it several years ago. It works exactly as advertised, and is much quieter than some less expensive systems I have seen in other peoples' homes. The noise level is quite tolerable for me on the high speed setting. I am looking forward to finishing the wiring, and trying the low speed and automatic shutoff.Read the manual and do your homework before you buy!***** Technical Note added after completing the wiring *****The video on wiring a 2-speed fan with an electronic timer has a couple of continuity problems (ha ha.) It does not explicitly say to, nor does it show, including the white wire or the green wire from the timer when connecting the whites (neutrals) and green/bare wires (grounds.) Anyone who has ever wired anything SHOULD know to do that, and if you don't you probably shouldn't take on this wiring project. If you follow the video exactly, you will end up with a stray white wire and a stray green wire. That's bad. The DIAGRAM in the manual is correct.***** Follow-Up Note added 7/27/2019 *****I wish to thank Lucky Dog for his thoughtful comment. I agree that it may make sense to have more than one fan, depending on the layout of your home, whether you need to keep interior doors closed, etc.After nearly a year in service, I am still very pleased with the QuietCool fan's performance and quality. I have no regrets at all. (However, I do wish I had purchased about one more KW worth of solar panels when I did that project.) My Tier 1 electric rate has increased from 27 cents/KWh to 28.8, so everything I can do to reduce power consumption pays off. I have had no problems at all with the system.After reviewing some of the negative comments posted in the last year I believe there are two common threads:1. Some dissatisfied people appear to have purchased fans too small for their homes, and2. I suspect that some of them don't have enough outflow capacity for their attics.I reiterate my recommendations to fully analyze your situation and carefully read the documentation before making this purchase.

it really works!