Greater efficiency is the biggest pro of direct drive fan configurations.
Belt drive vs direct drive attic fan.
Most whole house fans are relatively easy to install.
Sizing a whole house fan.
The second pulley is connected to a shaft that drives the fan propeller.
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.
Coming to the advantage of this kind of an industrial fan the biggest advantage is greater efficiency.
This is because of the fact that the amount of friction is greatly reduced in case of this fan when the fan is operating.
A well balanced direct drive is far quieter than belt.
It s balance or lack of balance actually which causes most of the noise.
It s incredibly hard to balance a belt and pulley system.
Belt drive fans are quieter than direct but still noisy.
Unlike the belt driven fans in case of a direct drive fan there is lesser energy loss.
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.
That would be quiet but would look like a mess from outdoors.
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.
Thus the fan blades will rotate at the same speed as the motor rotates.
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.
Where on a belt drive fan the fan motor shaft has a pulley connected by a belt to a second pulley.
Unlike belt driven fans there s less energy loss because there s a reduced amount of friction as the fan operates.
You have a fan a motor and maybe a coupling.
On a direct drive fan as implied by the name the fan propeller is connected directly to the shaft of the motor.
Direct drive models are the most do it yourself friendly because for most no attic joists need to be cut.