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.
Attic fans worth it.
Temp 84f at 5pm.
An attic fan is installed on the slanted side of your roof or on one of the gable sides of your attic.
However there are certain circumstances where they can prove useful.
Instead of installing a fan just make sure your attic is well ventilated.
Their energy efficiency is already extraordinary.
The fan blades spin but they don t lower the attic.
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.
Temp 92 f at 5pm.
Is a solar attic fan worth the cost.
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.
Or is it better to abide by proven methods of insulating a home and increasing attic ventilation through soffits ridge vents or offset ridge vents.
An attic fan can be mounted directly on your roof or mounted to a gable on your roof.
The attic fan kept my house cooler by 8f compared to pre fan installation days.
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.
If the attic fan increases the comfort level of the house it may be worth it.
The attic fan is controlled by its own thermostat that automatically turns it on and off when needed.
How an attic fan works.
After attic fan installation ac still off during day.
This is a solar panel supplying free electricity to the attic fan under the silver dome on the rear roof.
Find out whether it is economical to run an attic fan.
If the attic fan keeps the house cool enough so that the owners leave the ac off there is almost certainly an energy benefit.
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.
So is it truly worth it to add a solar attic fan on an older home.
It may be starting to sound like attic ventilation fans aren t worth the hassle and could cause more problems than they solve.
This was observed on numerous days following the installation.
During workdays would leave air conditioner off when leaving in the morning.
Attic fans exhaust hot air from your attic to the outside.