Local to Southern Oregon? Save on a Whole House Fan!

As you might be aware, we here at AirScape are located in beautiful Southern Oregon—Medford to be exact. The climate here is pretty terrific: not too hot, cold, or humid, and with low overnight temperatures, even during the summer. In this climate it is completely realistic to replace traditional A/C with a whole house fan (depending, of course, on the size of home and desired indoor temperature). To see just how well one of our fans works in Southern Oregon, check out the data from our Ashland Data Monitoring demo site.

The ongoing heat wave in the Western states has been generating a lot of interest in our  fans. If you’re reading this from Southern Oregon or within easy driving distance thereof, we’d like you to know about an offer we extend to “locals”: Anyone interested in purchasing an AirScape whole house fan and willing to pick it up in person at our Medford, Oregon facility can take advantage of:

  1. Zero shipping charges (obviously); and,
  2. A 10% discount on their purchase.

There are two caveats. Firstly, this offer is strictly “FOB Origin”: you are responsible for transporting your purchase to its install location, and for any damage it might sustain en route thereto. Secondly, you need to call us directly at 1.866.448.4187 to place your order and arrange to pick it up.

If you’re cooling your home with A/C, rising temperatures mean heavier electrical bills. If you’re not, they mean hot, stuffy bedrooms, lost sleep, and a lower quality of life. In either case, there’s no need to suffer. Our whole house fans offer a natural, energy-efficient means of cooling your home. Call us today to find the right solution for you.

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AirScape’s Shipping Dock, Medford, Oregon

 

AirScape App for iPhone and iPad now Available.

UPDATE: The controls referenced below are currently only available as an upgrade on Sierra units. For more information please call us at 866.448.4187.

Our app for iPhone® and iPad® is now available from the App Store. We released our app for Android devices about a year ago, and are incredibly excited to offer the same great functionality to our customers with Apple® devices.

With this FREE app, homeowners with AirScape whole house fans can:iOS_Blog_iPhone

  • Scan their network to find all AirScape whole house fans connected to it;
  • Assign custom names to each fan on the network for easy identification;
  • Control a connected fan through the app’s interface, which is identical to that on our wall switches and wireless remotes; and,
  • View a fan’s status, indoor and attic temperatures, as well as any SafeSpeed™ notifications if this accessory has been installed.

To operate a fan using this app, both your fan and iPhone or iPad need to be connected to the same local area network (“LAN”)—your fan using a CAT-5 cable between its control box and your router, and your iPhone or iPad using Wi-Fi. For safety purposes this app cannot operate fans over the internet or your cellular network. If, for example, you’ve got access to the internet using your local coffee shop’s network or your phone’s 3G/4G service, our app will not be able to connect to your home’s fan.

Fans that are not connected to a network cannot be controlled using this app. Also, this app is compatible with only AirScape whole house fans with 2nd generation controls (sold 2013 to present).

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XR High Insulation Model Whole House Fans

Starting in July 2014 we are offering R-49 insulation on our AirScape line whole house fans (R-47 on the 1.7 WHF).  These will be separate part numbers (-XR designation) from our standard units.  R-49/R-47 insulation will not be available on Kohilo fans.

How do we get R-49 into the doors?  A combination of standard fiberglass insulation and VIP panel (vacuum insulation panel) technology. VIP is a relatively new technology that offers an R–Value (thermal resistance) up to ten times greater than commonly used forms of insulation, such as Styrofoam and six times greater than polyurethane. The chart below gives us a visual comparison of VIP panel R values vs. other common insulation on a per inch thickness basis. (image courtesy of ThermoCor)

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Why not R-49 on Kohilo fans? VIP insulation is relatively heavy and necessitates mechanical actuators to open and close these insulated doors.  Gravity dampers used on Kohilos, and a few other fan manufacturers, are not able to handle the added weight of insulation.

If you would like to read more on VIPs, check out the manufacturer’s website:  www.thermocorvip.com

Apps for Gen 2 Controls

UPDATE: The controls referenced below are currently only available as an upgrade on Sierra units. For more information please call us at 866.448.4187.

We can officially announce the AirScape Gen 2 Controls Android App for our whole house fans.  This will be a first in the whole house fan industry and we are very excited!

When is it coming? Soon. We are currently in beta testing and an early to mid July release date looks probable.  AVAILABLE NOW  in the Google Play store!

How much?  Free.

Is it backwards compatible?  Yes.  The app will work with all Gen 2 Controls fans from 2013 and 2014.  Some data might not be available on older 2013 version fans but the functionality will be there.

Can I still use the remote controls?  Yes.  The app is another control method.  It does not replace the wall switch, remote controls, or web interface.

What about an iOS (Apple) app?  We are still working on it –  There is currently no official release date.

With the AirScape Fan Controller app, you can:

* Conveniently SCAN your network (LAN) and find all connected AirScape whole house fans
* CONTROL any of the connected fans via the buttons on the app, just like a remote control
* VIEW status/temperatures/timer/SafeSpeed/interlock messages
* RENAME (assign custom names) to each whole house fan for easy identification

Note that the app must be installed on a device connected to your local network (wifi on phones). It does not operate over phone carrier networks (3G/4G, etc.). Only AirScape whole house fans equipped with 2nd Gen Controls and connected to your local network can be found and controlled.

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Meeting California Title 24 2013

California has slowly (too slowly in our humble opinion!) begun mandating Whole House Fans in certain climate zones.  July 1st, 2014 brings us the latest edition (labelled 2013) of the Title 24 standard that mandates the installation of Whole House Fans in climate zones 8-14.  This applies to designers using the “Prescriptive Standards/Components Package” design method (vs. the Performance Standards method).

Rest assured all AirScape Whole House Fans are Title 24 compliant!

You can find the standard for download on the energy.ca.gov website or via the link below.  Of particular interest is Section 150.1.

2013 Building Energy Efficiency Standards – Title 24

Title 24 position on whole house fans:

12. Ventilation Cooling. Single family homes shall comply with the Whole House Fan (WHF) requirements shown in TABLE 150.1-A. When a WHF is required, comply with Subsections A through C below:
A. Have installed one or more WHFs whose total Air Flow CFM as listed in the CEC Directory is at least 2 CFM/ft2 of conditioned floor area; and
B. Have at least 1 square foot of attic vent free area for each 375 CFM of rated whole house fan Air Flow CFM; and
C. Provide homeowners who have WHFs with a one page “How to operate your whole house fan” informational sheet.

Table 150.1-A in the standard breaks down which zones are required to install the whole house fan.  If you are not sure what climate zone you are in, have a look at the map below or click here for a city by city breakdown.

Title 24 Climate Zones

 

 

DMP Additions and Changes

You asked, we listened. The Data Monitoring Package (DMP) now has 2 new features:

1. The graphs on the DMP page now display the fan speed in addition to the outdoor, attic and space temperatures.
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2. You can now download the historical whole house fan data to your computer by clicking the DOWNLOAD icon under the temperature graphics. The data is downloaded in “CSV” format which can easily be imported into Excel or other spreadsheet programs.

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