Ceiling Fans For Climate Control?

Kiwassa · 04-13-2015, 07:19 PM

Hi,
I've been living in my yurt in the Adirondacks for 9 months now. We experience pretty extreme temperature swings here. On a hot day the yurt interior can sometimes reach temperatures greater than 100 degrees, even with the

dome

cracked. Last summer, the nights were downright chilly, even with the occasional fire in the woodstove.
Has anyone had any success controlling the climate of the yurt using a ceiling fan? My thought is I can better ventilate the yurt during the day and then reverse the circulation of the fan at night to force warm air downward. My thought was to hang the fan directly below the

dome

for better convection inside the yurt.

Last July and August I did not spend the day inside the yurt if I could avoid it because of the extreme heat. Every night I found myself bundling up, because the temperature inside would drop to 40 degrees. I'd rather not keep my

insulation

up all summer so I'm hoping the fan will help provide a little more regulation.

Any idea if it's worth the effort?

Jafo · 04-13-2015, 10:30 PM

Plenty of people use ceiling fans. What kind of

insulation

are you using? Reflective insulation helps reflect the sun away in the summer.

Bob Rowlands · 04-14-2015, 07:25 PM

If you have a typical trad yurt without a really tall ceiling or loft, it's your call. I'd install the ceiling fan just to see how much it helps. I can't sleep well when it is hot.

The heat from a wood stove stratifies. If there is no ceiling fan to mix the air the temp will be hot up high and cool down low. To exemplify this, my wife and I tried to sleep upstairs in the open loft of some friends cabin. It was winter and the wood stove was blazing away. No ceiling fan, and no windows to open. The temp up there was like the sahara desert. It was bloody hot. However it was fine down on the cabin floor. Unfortunately we couldn't sleep down there.

To cool my yurt during the summer I undo the roof cap, and roll the wall canvas up a foot or so around the perimeter. I tuck the cover in the middle wall rope to hold it secure. As hot air exits the cap, cool air comes in under the wall cover. Lemme tell yuh a very nice breeze results. Po boy air conditioning.

Kiwassa · 04-14-2015, 07:38 PM

Jafo-- I'm currently using foam board insulation, however I haven't hung it between the rafters. Instead, I created a drop ceiling using wire and placed the 3 inch think foam board above that. It worked great for the

heating

in the winter, but I'd prefer to take it down for the summer. I kind of miss the high roof, the rafters and the sun coming through the dome. So I don't intend to use any insulation in the summer.

Bob -- I do have high ceilings. From the floor to the roof ring I measured 13 feet. That's a lot of space for heat to get trapped. I like your "air conditioning". I've get a similar effect by removing the zip up clear vinyl panels.

MT Rod · 05-09-2015, 08:27 PM

Hi Bob,

"during the summer I undo the roof cap, and roll the wall canvas up a foot or so around the perimeter"

In Mongolia they only do this on the north side of the yurt where it's shadow keeps the ground cooler. I think I posted some pictures of it a few years ago. It is amazing how much cooler that air is coming off that cool earth.

MT Rod

Bob Rowlands · 05-10-2015, 09:56 AM

Thanks for the info Rod. I'm going to try that.

SeverTheTether · 05-20-2015, 10:08 AM

We initially installed 2 ceiling fans to help circulate the woodburning stove's heat, which worked well, but we added another above our bed last summer, for a total of 3. They are never turned off and always run, year round.