Summer is over and i am planning for the next summer.
Belt drive vs direct drive whole house fans.
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You have a fan a motor and maybe a coupling.
Direct drive models are the most do it yourself friendly because for most no attic joists need to be cut.
On both direct drive and belt drive fans the motor has two bearings.
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I fantasized building a small shack outside my house and setting the attic fan in the shack and running a duct up to the attic and through the same vent as an attic fan.
The two bearings on direct drive fan motors which are 7 horsepower and larger are typically regreaseable.
Greater efficiency is the biggest pro of direct drive fan configurations.
Direct drive fans require fewer parts and thus usually less maintenance.
Where on a belt drive fan the fan motor shaft has a pulley connected by a belt to a second pulley.
Belt drive fans have two additional bearings.
Belt drive fans are quieter than direct but still noisy.
Basically the difference between this whole house fan version and some of the others on this list is that with the tpi belt drive whole house fan you re getting a much more compact portable unit.
Sizing a whole house fan.
The second pulley is connected to a shaft that drives the fan propeller.
Direct drive fans should be designed for acceptable bearing life.
Thus the fan blades will rotate at the same speed as the motor rotates.
Direct drive vs belt.
It s not as powerful as some of the others we ve talked about but it s still a suitable choice if you re primarily concerned with.
Unlike the belt driven fans in case of a direct drive fan there is lesser energy loss.
With a belt drive the fan speed can be easily raised or lowered but there is belt and bearing maintenance to consider with a belt drive there are 2 additional bearings.
Most whole house fans are relatively easy to install.
Is it better to get a directive or a belt driven whole house fan.
That would be quiet but would look like a mess from outdoors.
When compared to belt drive fans which require belts sheaves and bushings direct drive is just plain simpler and maintenance folks tend to lean toward direct drive for daily maintenance.
This is because of the fact that the amount of friction is greatly reduced in case of this fan when the fan is operating.
Belt drive whole house fans that use an integrated pulley system take longer to install but a belt drive unit provides for a smoother and quieter operation.
However a belt drive fan has power transmission loss due to the friction between the belt and sheaves and due to the drive shaft bearings.
In a direct drive configuration the fan motor that controls the movement of the fan blades is connected either to a shaft or fan axle.