does running your vent cost alot?

[counterGOPI]

we keep our heat low but every night we turn on the house vent/fan (you know the thing that just circulates the air in your house)to drone us to sleep.
we are in a real mess financially right now... does running this vent every night cost a lot? we thought no b/c its not the actual heat or AC but right now every penny counts. tia for your help!

[SleeplessMommy]

In normal operation, a house furnace FAN uses 300-900 KWH (source: Krigger Residential energy). That would be about $90 max for .10 a KWH. Another source lists 1500 KWH as the high end. Those assume intermittent use.

In continuous use, the furnace fan draws about 750 Watts. That is like having 12 light bulbs running all the time. A small portable fan will cost about $10-15 to purchase and use much much less electricity. (55 Watts for a window fan, even less for a small clip fan)

While you are fan shopping, get some compact fluorescent light bulbs - those will reduce lighting costs by 80% and payback is less than a year.

[EmsMom]

Could you get a white noise machine instead? I used to use one for my dd when she was a baby to help her sleep. It would have to be cheaper than running the vent all night, if the numbers posted above are right. How does a vent work anyway? Is it venting your heated air to the outside? I have read that a vent such as a bathroom vent can pull out all the expensively heated air in a bathroom in just a few minutes.

[SleeplessMommy]

I think she is running the furnace in a fan only mode

[laohaire]

Originally Posted by SleeplessMommy

I think she is running the furnace in a fan only mode

I think so too. And I think it's probably a big power drain. A modern white noise machine would probably be better.