What does it cost to hire out "Whole-house fan checkup"?

A fair national range is $90–$180; local labor costs move that number up or down by county.

How often should this be done?

Annual, typically May. Local frost dates can shift the timing.

What should I ask before hiring someone for this?

Worth asking: Belt or direct drive? If belt — how's the tension and wear? Is my attic venting enough for this fan's airflow, or is it just pressurizing the attic?

How do I know I'm being upsold on this job?

Watch for: A solar attic fan pitched as the same thing — an attic fan cools the ATTIC; a whole-house fan cools the HOUSE through open windows. Different machines, and the solar-fan door-knock is a heavy upsell circuit. Replacement pitched over a squeak. It's a belt or a bearing — $10–$40 in parts on most units.

Heating & cooling

Whole-house fan checkup

Annual · typically May

Why it matters

First, the disambiguation, because the industry loves to blur it: a whole-house fan sits in the ceiling of your top-floor hallway and pulls evening air through open windows, flushing the day's heat out through the attic. An attic fan sits on the roof and only vents the attic. This card is the ceiling one — the big louvered panel that shakes the curtains when it kicks on.

If your house has one, it's a gift: on any evening when outside air drops below inside temperature, it cools the whole house for pennies against the AC's dollars.

What skipping it costs

$150–$800

A neglected fan announces itself: the squeal of a dry bearing or slipping belt at 9 p.m., followed by not using it all summer, followed by paying the AC to do the job the fan does nearly free. Then the seized motor is a $500–$800 replacement that a drop of oil would've prevented.

Two ways to get it done

Do it yourself

~30 min · difficulty 2 of 5

You'll need: Vacuum, Screwdriver, Flashlight, Few drops of 3-in-1 oil (older belt-drive models).

Spring, before fan season, power off at the breaker or switch:

Vacuum the louvers and shutter — dust here is why they stick half-open (which leaks your winter heat into the attic all year, by the way).
From the attic side: vacuum the blades and motor housing. Check the blades for cracks.
Belt-drive models: press the belt — about a half-inch of give is right. Glazed, cracked, or floppy = a $10 hardware-store belt. Oil ports on older motors get 2–3 drops, no more.
Spin the blade by hand. Grinding or wobble = bearing on its way out; fix it now for $20, not in July.
Run it with windows open and listen. Smooth hum good; rhythmic squeak is the belt; metallic whine is the bearing.

Hire it out

$90–$180National fair range — local labor moves this number.

A tune-up visit runs $90–$180 and makes sense if the attic access defeats you or the motor needs a bearing pressed. One real question worth a pro's answer: whether your attic has enough vent area for the fan's airflow — an undersized attic exhaust makes the fan fight itself and can push attic air back into the house.

And if a door-knocker offers to "upgrade" you to a solar attic fan: different machine, different (much smaller) job, and the economics rarely pencil. Keep the machine you have; it's the better one.

Ask the tech

Belt or direct drive? If belt — how's the tension and wear?
Is my attic venting enough for this fan's airflow, or is it just pressurizing the attic?

Red flags you're being upsold

A solar attic fan pitched as the same thing — an attic fan cools the ATTIC; a whole-house fan cools the HOUSE through open windows. Different machines, and the solar-fan door-knock is a heavy upsell circuit.
Replacement pitched over a squeak. It's a belt or a bearing — $10–$40 in parts on most units.

The call

No whole-house fan in your ceiling? Skip this card entirely. Have one? DIY the spring once-over — it's the cheapest cooling you own.