Window Fans

judypdr

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I've seen floor fans, ceiling fans, wall fans, and air conditioners, but so far I haven't seen any window fans. When I was growing up in the U.S. south (before air conditioning), we had window fans that drew outside air into the house through open windows in other rooms. Has anyone tried that approach to whole house cooling and, if so, where could I find such a fan? Thanks. I searched the forums so please don't fuss at me if this has been asked before!
 

AJL6767

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Have not seen them here either. I brought some down that I got at home depot. Suggest you measure the windows that you want the fan to be in first, since they are not as universal as most think. Most of them are designed for windows that go up and down, not sideways,
 

judypdr

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Yes, I agree...the windows would need to be modified somehow. I'll wait a bit to see if anyone else has an suggestions before proceeding. I realize that, in theory, they don't make sense since the air I would be drawing in is hot (too) but it's more an idea of having air swishing through the entire house, especially since even with the ceiling fans, the heat gets trapped in my dining room/major thoroughfare that has a high ceiling. It's open to all the other rooms (with windows) but doesn't have windows itself. And the front faces the ocean so it seems like drawing air from the front through that area to the very back with the old-style window fan would essentially eliminate the hot pockets.... Thanks!
 

windeguy

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I am afraid that in 10 years I too have never seen a window fan for sale. I agree on their utility, but unfortunately you would have to import them. The other thing to keep in mind is that if they are made of metal and you are on the ocean, they will have a very limited lifetime. On the order of a year or so. If you can get plastic ones, so much the better.
 

judypdr

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Yes, thought of that...may be the best idea...also the metal concern! Thanks...any more ideas are welcome!
 

Ringo

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I bought two box fans at La Serena in POP and did as JD says.

Buy a box fan, a little bit of wire, and Voila', window fan.

If you want something around 3' across, industrial type with shutters, then go to the vet. supply and grain place up El Choco road about 1.3 miles. Sosua/Cabarete.
 

CoreyH

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We just bought some fans yesterday at La Sirena in PP. They have a smallish box fan that fits in the window quite well. It was about 750 pesos and is mainly plastic. We have screens so the side to side window thing isn't really an issue for us. This is off topic, but, has anyone tried a 'co-op' type thing down here? Where a few, or many, people wanting some stuff shared shipping on things from the States or Canada? I was just talking with my hubbie about this idea the other day. Montero shipping charges for the size box, not the weight. Someone in the States could shop, pack and ship for a small fee. They could take the items out of the packages, there'd be no return here anyway, so you wouldn't get nailed for the tariffs. Just an idea.
 

Chip

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If you have a concrete house and concrete roof you would not want circulate the air in and out of the house during the day because the air temperature outside will be hotter than the air inside due to the fact that the house cools at night and stays cooler than the outside air until usually around 8 pm in summer. Therefore, the best thing you can do to keep the house cool is to keep the windows closed during the day and also to make sure to limit direct sunlight from entering the house.

When you notice that the outside air is cooler than the inside air then you can open the windows. However, you need to check the outside air when there is no wind blowing because the evaporative cooling affect of the body will make it appear that the ambient air temperature is cooler than it really is. While it may feel cooler to have the windows open during the day what is really happening is that initially you may feel cooler because of the body's evaporative cooling effect but the air that enters the house is hotter than the air inside and will slowly heat up the house so at some point the concrete will start radiating it's heat much earlier in the day as opposed to around 8 pm at night. In effect what you are doing by leaving the windows open during the day is eliminating or greatly reducing the insulation effect that concrete structures have.

Therefore, the best thing to do is to use floor or ceiling fans throughout the day and then in the evening use window fans as well.
 

Chip

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I should add that the body's evaporative cooling effect only works when the humdity is not close to the maximum saturation point. In other words, if you live in a really humid area there will be almost no or none at all evaporative effect. Here in Santiago it is dry enough to know the difference. Where I grew up in SC during the summer there was zero effect. One can tell the difference by standing in the shade. If you are sweating even if there is a breeze it probably means it is very humid.

I would like to add although I'm not a mechanical or electrical engineer I had an EE who did HVAC designs explain the process to me.
 

judypdr

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Chip, of course you're right about the outside vs inside temperature and the effect of humidity. I grew up in lower Mississippi where the humidity is very high, but we didn't have many concrete houses so I did miss that lesson growing up! I guess I'll live with it a while and see how much I want to invest. I love having the air conditioning in the bedroom but I keep the ceiling fan going just in case the main power goes off overnight...one of the disadvantages of Costambar (but lots of positives!). And the living room with windows and sliding doors on the ocean side get lots of breezes. It's just that one central area that's bothering me. I notice it most late in the afternoon and the ceiling fan doesn't quite move out the hot air. I haven't climbed up on a ladder to see if it's reversable...but if it is, it might make sense to circulate that hot air back down (like we do up north with our ceiling fans in the winter) to keep the overall temperature from building up. I'm not an engineer either, but I "get" the concepts OK. Now can you explain how cisterns and water pumps work in the DR? My sister has major problems and I'm having trouble explaining the mechanics to her. She has an above-ground cistern near the pump and one on the roof. And she thinks the pump is not working properly but she has water...she has a Dominican boyfriend but doesn't trust him to give her a straight answer...thinks he wants her to buy a new pump so he can put the old one in his mother's house... sound familiar?
 

judypdr

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CoreyH, your idea is a really good one about cooperative importing, but, of course, technically, we would need to pay duties and taxes ... :) But just so you know, I have 12,500 pounds of STUFF coming in a month or two and will likely be having some sort of overstock sale when it arrives. I really don't need two routers, for example, but it was more trouble to sort out everthing and stage sales in the US when I only had a week to pack and close on my house. It sold too quickly! :) Let me know what you need...maybe an electric lawn mower? Maybe a Shark steam mop? Need any Cherished Teddies ceramic bears or stuffed animals? Ugh! What will I do with all that stuff? a
 

Chip

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Chip, of course you're right about the outside vs inside temperature and the effect of humidity. I grew up in lower Mississippi where the humidity is very high, but we didn't have many concrete houses so I did miss that lesson growing up! I guess I'll live with it a while and see how much I want to invest. I love having the air conditioning in the bedroom but I keep the ceiling fan going just in case the main power goes off overnight...one of the disadvantages of Costambar (but lots of positives!). And the living room with windows and sliding doors on the ocean side get lots of breezes. It's just that one central area that's bothering me. I notice it most late in the afternoon and the ceiling fan doesn't quite move out the hot air. I haven't climbed up on a ladder to see if it's reversable...but if it is, it might make sense to circulate that hot air back down (like we do up north with our ceiling fans in the winter) to keep the overall temperature from building up. I'm not an engineer either, but I "get" the concepts OK. Now can you explain how cisterns and water pumps work in the DR? My sister has major problems and I'm having trouble explaining the mechanics to her. She has an above-ground cistern near the pump and one on the roof. And she thinks the pump is not working properly but she has water...she has a Dominican boyfriend but doesn't trust him to give her a straight answer...thinks he wants her to buy a new pump so he can put the old one in his mother's house... sound familiar?

If you have consistently fresh breezes it would make sense to increase the air circulation in your house as you had proposed.

With regard to the cistern, generally when the pump won't do it's job is because it is damaged, there is a leak in a pipe somewhere or it has lost it's prime.

Generally, the cheapest route for a solution is to assume it has lost it's prime. However, if i understand correctly the cistern is above ground so I should assume that the pump is near the base of the cistern. If this is correct it would be almost impossible for a pump to lose it's prime because of the water pressure in the tank. Therefore, it could then be the pump or a leak somewhere. Obviously, leaks can be hard to find especially if they are under the yard or the house and it is relatively small. Therefore, if I have assumed the correct location of the pump with regard to the cistern and there are no apparent leaks the cheapest solution would be to change the pump as opposed to digging up the yard looking for a leak. BTW, a new pump can be had for around RD2000 or so.

One final comment is there is the possibility that your sister is trying to pressure the water system from the above ground cistern and gravity only. To get better pressure one has to leave the pump on at all times.
 

CoreyH

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I didn't mean to imply that there would be no charges for taxes and tariffs. I know that there are still taxes and tariffs, it's just a little less expensive when things are out of the box they came in. If you've never purchased anything over 200$ and had it shipped in you may be shocked at the prices. Let me know when your 'ship' comes in!
 

Deyvi

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Yeah, I grew up in CT. and the box (window) fans were used originally as attic fans on the two and three story homes. Idea was to suck out the hot air above and open the windows below. especially in the evening and close the windows in the morning. Mostly wood homes. Later we all used them for window fans, reversing them to blow out in the day and bring in cool air at night. I looked for these in SD to no avail. Guess the physics isn't the same. Block homes heating up during the day and retaining the heat. Answer seems to be to have a fan that blows right on you or oscillates if others are around. Bought a great KDK wall mount for our patio/ hang area and it is great!!! It's metal, not cheap-- paid 3000rd several yrs. ago.
 

judypdr

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Great answers and advice. Mr. Moderator...I hate when these things hang around forever... want to close this thread?