At my old house, we replaced the HVAC with a high efficiency unit that came with a thermostat that would blow, say, 50% to 70% of the time for air movement to increase comfort level. I'm not sure but I think I recall that it was a variable speed fan that did that for a milder air flow.
My son just bought his first house and installed a programmable thermostat that allows him to do the same thing so I suggested he let the main blower run 50% of the time to see if it increases comfort of the house.
My question is whether there are any issues with letting the main blower do that as far as wear and tear on it. He seems to think the house feels more comfortable and that the AC hasn't needed to kick on. My only other issue with the idea is the main blower is noisier than the one in my high efficiency unit.
Is there any cause for concern with this?
Best Answer
Continuous fan operation equalizes temperature and humidity between different areas of the home, and particularly between levels (where convection results in higher upstairs temperatures). It's also the case that even minor airflow helps a person feel cooler by enhancing evaporation on the skin. It's a good practice to reduce cooling costs because the compressor won't need to run as much for a given comfort level.
Sure, there's some wear to the fan bearings incurred, but fan startup is hard on the fan, so there's benefit from fewer startup cycles as well. I don't see how fan speed is particularly important except with respect to noise, should that be a concern.