Attic Fan for Carrier 58STX110--14122

Question

I have a Carrier furnace in my attic (Model 58STX110--14122). Does this unit include an attic fan? There is a fan that used to turn on during the day when it's hot and turns off when temperatures cool in the early evening. A while back, the fan started making noises, like it was struggling. Then it completely broke so the fan won't run anymore. There is a switch that is able to turn it off if we don't want the attic fan running.

I'm not very familiar with HVAC units. Is an attic fan part of this unit? The AC and heat works just fine. We used heat in the winter and we are using AC now in the summer. It seems the attic fan part of the unit is broken. I did look in the attic and I didn't see a separate attic fan unit so that's why I'm wondering if it's something that's part of the furnace.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Answer 1

Typically an attic fan is independent of your Heating and AC.

The attic fan provides cooling to the house in a way that consumes less energy and provides more fresh air than the air conditioner. It works best when the air outside is cooler than the air inside. You turn on the attic fan, open the attic door or hatch to the house, and open windows in the rooms that you want cooled. The attic fan sucks air through those open windows and out through the attic. As long as the outside air is cooler than inside this works nicely. In the spring and fall this works particularly well when the evenings are cool. You can turn off the A/C when the sun goes down and bring cool fresh air into the house. When you go to bed you close the downstairs windows and open the bedroom windows so it keeps working. The main downside is that it brings a lot of dust and pollen into the house.

The attic fan cannot provide heat. The heating and A/C circulates air through the house, so opening lots of windows and forcibly exhausting that air would be very counterproductive.

Some photos of the furnace and the fan would help to provide a definite answer that the fan is not connected to the furnace but I really doubt it. You can add those photos to your question by editing it.