FAQs

Why is UL listing important?

STANDARDS: Underwriters Laboratory (UL) inherently requires and tests for safety. Through comprehensive procedures and guidelines UL requires their standards are met before certification is granted.

VERIFICATION: Local UL field representatives visit manufacturers several times per year to verify that the Listing Mark is only applied to products that are being built in accordance with the UL requirements.

COMMITMENT: When manufacturers are UL certified is shows their continued commitment to safety and quality.

Why should I buy an Intelifan?

The InteliFan will save you money by reducing your annual heating and cooling usage and help the planet.  Almost all heating and cooling systems do little to take advantage of the free energy after the thermostat satisfies your desired comfort.

By intelligently controlling the fan runtime to get this wasted energy into the home or building, you will reduce the systems total annual heating and cooling costs an average of 15-17%.  Reducing the annual operational hours will greatly decrease the chances of unnecessary breakdowns and will increase the life of your HVAC system.  With reduced power consumption, less greenhouse gasses are released and this helps the environment.

How does InteliFan work?

The brain of the InteliFan is a small computer microprocessor with stored data from 10,000+ runtimes where temperature sensors were used to measure the remaining heat or cooling left in a gas furnace or air conditioning system after the thermostat reaches its set temperature.  After each call for heating or cooling, the Intelifan mathematically determines the optimum time to extend the fans runtime based on comparing this stored data to the type of equipment it is wired to and how long the system was running.  Based on laboratory tests the InteliFan is designed to run variably up to 4 minutes after the thermostat is satisfied.

For cooling, the fan shuts off immediately when the air conditioning compressor is turned off by the thermostat which leaves cooling energy trapped in the system. The evaporator coil is still very cold and this cooling energy can be recovered to cool your home. The water that condenses on your evaporator coil will mostly run down the drain. Operating the fan transfers heat to the cold water and cools your house like an evaporative cooler (swamp cooler). The result from capturing this wasted cooling energy, is the average annual operational time of the air conditioner is reduced by 15% over any basic fixed delay.

In heating mode, all furnaces provide a short 30 to 90 second fan-off time delay. This leaves significant heat in the heat exchanger from 250 to 325 degrees F. This wastes heating energy. The InteliFan recovers most of this additional energy from the heat exchanger by operating the fan for a longer period of time after the furnace has turned off. The result from capturing this wasted heating energy is the average annual operational time of the gas furnace is reduced by 17% over the standard fix 90 second delay.

How does the InteliFan know how long to run the blower motor?

Using the highest quality industry temperature probes in the air stream of typical heating and cooling systems, InteliFan ran HVAC test systems using a variety of run-time intervals.  The air temperatures coming out of the supply ducts were measured to develop temperature curves that show when the optimal amount of energy had been extracted.

A study by Southern California Edison Design and Engineering Services (shown above) illustrates how fixed time delay intervals can provide either energy benefits or energy penalties. The InteliFan is able to vary the delay up to 4 minutes based on the compressor run time to optimize energy use.

For example, a long compressor run time might call for a time delay of 4 minutes while a much shorter time delay is required during short compressor run times.

The InteliFan will also vary the delay of the fan up to 4 minutes based on a gas furnace runtime to optimize energy use. 

By continuing to run the fan past the call for cooling, will that increase the humidity level in my home?

No. After the thermostat reaches the desired temperature setting, the compressor stops running. Up to 60 seconds after the compressor has stopped running the temperature of the cooling coil will be below the dew point and will continue to remove moisture from the air that is moving over the coil.  This moisture will continue to fall off the coil and move in to the drain line.  Once the temperature rises above the dew point very little moisture is remaining on the coil to increase the humidity.  Studies have shown that one coils worth of moisture has an almost 0% effect on increased humidity.   

Are there thermostats that can variably control the fan runtime?

No. Some thermostats have the capability to change the fixed delay of the fan runtime. This is inaccurate as there is no one perfect time to set the fan runtime.  And no thermostats can be set up to variably control the fan runtime. Thermostats have a set fixed time that is either factory set or determined by the installer.   

How much can I expect to save?

Studies by Southern California Edison and Intertek (an international product certification and testing company) have proven that the InteliFan Microprocessor improves the annual efficiency of an air conditioner or heat pump an average of 15% and the annual efficiency of a gas furnace after it standard 90 second delay an average of 17%.

How difficult is the InteliFan to install?

Intelifan can be installed in 10 to 15 minutes by a certified HVAC contractor with special skills to know how to properly install the Intelifan at the furnace or air handler control board. 

Does the InteliFan require any regular maintenance?

No maintenance is required.  The InteliFan uses no batteries and remembers your programming even with the power off.  There have been over 200,000 InteliFans installed with almost no failures. 

Why isn't a product like InteliFan installed by Equipment Manufacturers during the manufacturing process?

Most equipment manufacturers follow a pricing model that allows them to remain competitive.  Adding extra parts or accessories to their equipment will cause them to lose their competitive pricing edge.  Products like the InteliFan, start assists, surge arrestors and indoor air quality products are left for aftermarket sales and installs. Their sales forecasts are usually based on systems having a 10 to 15 year life expectancy. The InteliFan can increase the average system life 2-3 years.

The patented and tested InteliFan has been installed in more than 200,000 homes in the US with virtually no call backs for warranty or service.