These fans are designed to remove excess heat from your attic which in theory is supposed to lessen the load on the air conditioning in your home.
Attic fan worth it.
If there isn t enough venting in the attic for the attic fan to pull air from it will start pulling air from the home s interior through the wall cavities and drywall ceilings.
Attic insulation that is less than r 19.
Of course if the attic fan isn t working correctly and is running all year long that would be a significant problem.
Is a solar attic fan worth the cost.
It may be starting to sound like attic ventilation fans aren t worth the hassle and could cause more problems than they solve.
An attic fan is installed on the slanted side of your roof or on one of the gable sides of your attic.
Attic ventilation fans could be effective if your home has.
However there are certain circumstances where they can prove useful.
If the attic fan increases the comfort level of the house it may be worth it.
Attic fans are not recommended if you have central air conditioning because when you turn the fan on in the summer it depressurizes the attic but also reaches down into your house and starts drawing off air conditioned air effectively driving up your cooling costs.
Much of that heat then conducts downward and finds its way into the house.
So you can probably expect your total expenditures to be around 700 800 for a full install.
The attic fans needs to have a minimum amount of makeup air or intake air which is the vent area that the attic fan pulls air from.
Their solar attic fans cost around 500 not including installation costs.
If the attic fan keeps the house cool enough so that the owners leave the ac off there is almost certainly an energy benefit.
An attic fan will perform best when the property is sealed and insulated to prevent energy loss and the entry of heated and moist air.
With an attic fan many attics have a temperature that is the same as the outside air or just a few degrees warmer.
An attic fan can be mounted directly on your roof or mounted to a gable on your roof.
Shingles will cup and become ineffective putting your roof at serious risk for water damage.
Using a fan to blow hot air out of the attic doesn t address the radiant heat flow from the roof to the attic floor.
Attic fans exhaust hot air from your attic to the outside.
The fan blades spin but they don t lower the attic.
This is important because excess heat in the attic will cause damage to roofing material and to the home s siding.
Trying to solve the heat gain problem in your attic by using a fan is like lying out at the beach with a fan blowing over you and thinking you re not.
This is a solar panel supplying free electricity to the attic fan under the silver dome on the rear roof.
Instead of installing a fan just make sure your attic is well ventilated.
How an attic fan works.