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Old 04-11-14, 10:55 AM   #11
BobD
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Daox,
Yes, I built essentially the same type "coffin box" around my fan that Jeff5may described above from 2' thick foam and I split the top into halves and hinged from both sides with duct tape. When the fan is turned on, the top opens from the air pressure and closes automatically from gravity when the fan is turned off. I did have to put a vertical stop on both sides of the "coffin" to prevent the tops from opening too far (more than 90 degrees) and failing to close, but this works great and I no longer notice the temperature differences in the hallway under the ceiling fan louvers. Thanks to all for your comments and solutions. This is a great forum for solving these types of problems and getting ideas for other helpful, energy saving projects.

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Old 04-11-14, 11:06 AM   #12
Daox
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That is great! Any chance we could get pictures of the installed project?
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Old 04-11-14, 12:58 PM   #13
eco dude
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I use one of these
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Old 04-11-14, 02:12 PM   #14
mk1st
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Default Attic Fan

Whole house attic fans are an older technology that are a good idea in theory but frequently don't work well because of where they are installed and what they are being asked to do. Typically, when the fan's not being used you will experience the symptoms that you describe because there's lots of places for air to leak down through the louvres, plus, it's just plain hot up above and the metal parts heat up.
When you use the fan, the attic vents are typically not large enough to accomodate the air from the fan, which will then result in air being pushed back down towards your ceiling and stirring up attic dust (and worse).
Doing the hinged cover that you mentioned is a great idea (there are commercial fans that have this feature) but really the best thing to do is to air seal and insulate your attic, removing the fan and sealing off the opening while doing that work. Also, the very best way to reduce your attic temperatures is to install a white or light colored roof. This is one of the reasons that metal roofs are making a big surge into residential construction. There are many attractive light colored roofs available as opposed to less attractive white shingles (don't see too many of those!)
Good luck.

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