exhaust fans

[small&rusty]

I was chatting with a buddy last week about garage stuff and he suggested putting in an exhaust fan. My shop back home had one and as nice as it was, I rarely used it.. The wind would always blow the louvers open, it was a highway for bugs, and it was a huge source of heat loss in the winter time.

For those that have exhaust fans what have you done? And is there an insulated option for louvered exhaust fans?

 

[PassnThru]

If you have a ceiling in your garage and adequate ventilation in the attic then install a whole house fan.
I am unfamiliar with the exhaust fan you are referring to apparently because my whole house fan in the garage does none of that.
You might want to be more specific about what kind of 'exhaust fan' you are talking about.

 

[67carl]

I put an exhaust fan in my garage with metal louvers on the outside. It's a ranch style house so the roof extends over the garage exterior- no issues with wind. I also installed a push button timer switch so I could turn it on when I pulled the car in and it will shut itself off after 15/30/45/60 min. I open a man door on the opposite side and get a nice wind tunnel effect.

 

[small&rusty]

this is the type of fan I had back home and was considering putting in the new place.
http://i.ebayimg.com/images/i/291142535935-0-1/s-l1000.jpg

 

[Stuart in MN]

You can get fans with motorized and insulated louvers, so they stay closed and keep out the cold, but you may have to go to a mechanical equipment supplier, rather than shopping the big box stores.

 

[kaymccampbell]

I put an old furnace blower, with a set of Dayton self closing louvers, the kind with felt seals, on the typically lee side of the house. I have no drafts to speak of. I do like the idea of a timer switch, cause I've left the silly thing on and had to go back down to the shop to shut it off in the middle of the night. Guess I'm getting an early present.
Hmmm. I wonder if they make a timer for 5hp compressors?

 

[ItsNemo]

I put in a fairly high cfm delta continuous run (if I leave it on) bathroom fan in mine. No it's not going to create a breeze, but enough to keep the air cleaner and the heat down a bit. No problems with insulation in that regards.

 

[nadogail]

I put an old furnace blower, with a set of Dayton self closing louvers, the kind with felt seals, on the typically lee side of the house. I have no drafts to speak of. I do like the idea of a timer switch, cause I've left the silly thing on and had to go back down to the shop to shut it off in the middle of the night. Guess I'm getting an early present.
Hmmm. I wonder if they make a timer for 5hp compressors?

They Do

I have a spring wound timer on the relay controlling the electric heater I installled for my wife in her garage. The timer controll the 24 v0lts to the relay coil. She can have the heater on as much as she wants, she just has to turn the knob to turn it on, turn it some more and it will run longer.

The 24 volt transformer came from a sprinkler timer.

I installed a 2 pole 24o volt water heater timer in my son's garage to control when he charges his Nissan Leaf, charging ability starts at Midnight and stops at 5:00 AM to coincide with super off peak electric rates.

 

[small&rusty]

You can get fans with motorized and insulated louvers, so they stay closed and keep out the cold, but you may have to go to a mechanical equipment supplier, rather than shopping the big box stores.

I'll have to look for one of these. Its windy 8 days a week here so it would also need have the motorized louvers to keep it shut.