Simple whole house fan controller - and maybe the start of a hobby

[LurfysMa <invalid@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

We have a whole house fan. It does a fantastic job of cooling the
house -- better than A/C most of the time.

However, on high it is very noisy. Very noisy. Hard to sleep. It has a
variable speed switch (rotary, continuous) so I can turn it on
anywhere from high (too noise to sleep) to low (tolerable).

Also, it rarely needs to be run all night. The usual drill is to turn
it on as soon as it's under 75F outside and run it until the house is
cool. In the middle of summer, this means it needs to run until
anywhere from 1 to 3 hours, sometimes a little longer.

On very hot days (for here - it rarely gets over 85F), I will turn it
on between 8pm and maybe 11pm on high. When we go to bed, I turn it
down to medium or low. Then I get up between 1am and maybe 3am and
turn it off altogether.

For years, I have been meaning to put a timer in series with the
variable speed switch so that I could set it to run for 1-4 hours and
then shut off automatically. The only problem with that is that I
would need to cut another hole in the wall for another jbox. Not a big
problem, but maybe there's a better way.

I checked around for a combination switch that is both variable speed
and timer. Found nothing.

I posted a question over on alt.home.repair and someone suggested X10.
I looked into X10 many years ago and concluded that it had too many
problems. Maybe it's time for another look.

Reading the messages here for the past eyar or so, it looks like there
are newer technologies (Z-Wave, ZigBee, Insteon, UPB, etc.). There is
appeal to being able to program the fan not only to turn on/off, but
also change speed based not only on time, but maybe on temperature as
well. And, of course, once I have a "system", I can then program the
flood lights, the sprinklers, the thermostat, the Christmas lights,
etc.... Hence, a new hobby.


But returning to just the fan, what would you all recommend as a
starter system just to control the fan?

First of all, which technology is the most stable and reliable. Cost
is not a major factor. Also, I don't mind if it is something of a
hobby, but I do NOT want it to become a career. I want it to work well
enough that I don't NEED to always be messing with it to keep it
working.

Would it require a stand-alone controller, a dedicated computer, or
what? I actually do have a spare PC that could be used.

I am also going to install a wireless network soon. Can that be used?

I do NOT want anything that requires Unix. I have Windows systems and
want to stay that way.

If I want to just control this fan to get me started, what do I need
and where do I get it? I want the fan to have speed control as well as
on/off.

Also, are there local contractors I could get to set it up? I am on
the San Francisco peninsula (Palo Alto).

Are there consultants (local or not) who could help me decide what to
get and walk me through the set up?

Thanks

PS: The house was built in the 30s and a lot of the wiring is very
old. Many outlets do not have ground. The second floor was added in
the 80s and is more modern.

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