Belt Drive Vs Direct Drive Attic Fan

Thus the fan blades will rotate at the same speed as the motor rotates.

Belt drive vs direct drive attic fan. I fantasized building a small shack outside my house and setting the attic fan in the shack and running a duct up to the attic and through the same vent as an attic fan. It s balance or lack of balance actually which causes most of the noise. Belt drive whole house fans that use an integrated pulley system take longer to install but a belt drive unit provides for a smoother and quieter operation. Unlike belt driven fans there s less energy loss because there s a reduced amount of friction as the fan operates.

Direct drive models are the most do it yourself friendly because for most no attic joists need to be cut. Unlike the belt driven fans in case of a direct drive fan there is lesser energy loss. On a direct drive fan as implied by the name the fan propeller is connected directly to the shaft of the motor. Belt drive fans are quieter than direct but still noisy.

Coming to the advantage of this kind of an industrial fan the biggest advantage is greater efficiency. Greater efficiency is the biggest pro of direct drive fan configurations. The second pulley is connected to a shaft that drives the fan propeller. This is because of the fact that the amount of friction is greatly reduced in case of this fan when the fan is operating.

When compared to belt drive fans which require belts sheaves and bushings direct drive is just plain simpler and maintenance folks tend to lean toward direct drive for daily maintenance. Most whole house fans are relatively easy to install. It s incredibly hard to balance a belt and pulley system. Direct drive fans require fewer parts and thus usually less maintenance.

Direct drive fans have no power transmission loss since the propeller is directly connected to the motor shaft. Where on a belt drive fan the fan motor shaft has a pulley connected by a belt to a second pulley. A well balanced direct drive is far quieter than belt. Sizing a whole house fan.

In a direct drive configuration the fan motor that controls the movement of the fan blades is connected either to a shaft or fan axle.