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Looking for a window fan that can blow in cool air at night and seal up reasonably well during the day when it's hot and I use the AC. Any advice? Yes I've searched the internet but I've gotten ambiguous results. PS: this needs to be installable on a slider window.

@Huesmann is correct in that I am looking for a fan that seals up reasonably tight when not in use. It's typically 90-110F in the summer, but we get cool nights (<55F). So I'd love to pump cold air in at night, but have it sealed tight during the heat of the day. I am not finding anything commercially, especially that works for horizontally sliding windows. I did find an "Air King" window fan that allows the window to close behind it (ideal!!), but it is unclear whether the install would work for slider windows.

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  • There are window fans with shutters, which will do something—but probably not that much—to prevent your cool air from escaping. You probably want some kind of door (ideally insulated) to place on the fan when not in use. If you could provide a photo of the actual fan that would sure help.
    – Huesmann
    Commented Aug 2 at 13:01
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    Please post a photograph, especially since you have mentioned a slider window.
    – Rohit Gupta
    Commented Aug 2 at 16:40
  • Note that "whole-house fans", designed for this purpose, incorporate motorized dampers. And that they blow outward rather than inward; whichever you do, there has to be some leakage or an open window somewhere to balance the pressure.
    – keshlam
    Commented Aug 3 at 14:34

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Window fans don't normally have this feature, but I have a whole-house fan that has weighted louvres that close when not in use. Most exterior wall fans operate the same way with the louvers closing by gravity when the fan is not operating.

These are exhaust fans and do not "blow" air INTO the building but blow it out and suck air into the building elsewhere through open windows.

I practice "night time cooling" when the temperature is below 62º and humidity is low. This is a process of opening up several windows and running the whole-house fan in the early morning for an hour or so to get the house down as low as possible. Then seal the house up and let it coast until it is hot enough to start the AC. This reduces AC costs at least a little.

Good Luck!

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There are kitchen fans with a solenoid controlled grille which you could change the flow direction to do what you need.

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  • I don't think that's what the OP is asking. When the fan is in operation, it's blowing air in, and the fan swept area is obviously open. The OP wants to know if there's a way to close it off when the fan is not in operation. Simply reversing the direction won't help, because then its blowing the cool conditioned air out. OP basically needs a door to cover the fan.
    – Huesmann
    Commented Aug 2 at 12:59
  • @Huesmann kitchen fans tend to be designed to extract air from the kitchen to the outside I suggested reversing the direction so it would do what the OP requested which is to bring cool nighttime air inside.
    – Solar Mike
    Commented Aug 2 at 14:01
  • The problem isn't directionality. The OP only wants to intake cool outside air at night, and close off all air (and energy, presumably) transfer during the day. There is no use case for exhausting interior air AFAICT.
    – Huesmann
    Commented Aug 3 at 13:21
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No. There are fans that seal somewhat when off. EG bathroom fans, attic fans, range hoods. But they are not designed for windows. If you design a fan for a window your assumption will be that when not in use the window can be closed. If you incorporate features that do the same thing but poorly and at extra cost and complexity, your product will not succeed.

That said, some window air conditioners have a fresh air flap operated by a lever, and a fan-only mode. If you don't mind spending 20X what's needed and having a huge hulking thing in the window, you could fake it that way.

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I believe the Airbar Portal is what you are looking for. Discontinued but still available in a few places. I found mine at a thrift store sans the side extenders to make it fit windows wider than 24 inches. I bought it because I too was looking for a fan that closes when not in use. I had been looking for a fan with that feature and had nearly given up. It may not be totally air tight but is close enough. I use it as an exhaust fan in my cigar room. It amazes me this feature is so rare.

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