Are Attic Fans Worth It

Is a solar attic fan worth the cost.

Are attic fans worth it.

This is a solar panel supplying free electricity to the attic fan under the silver dome on the rear roof. However there are certain circumstances where they can prove useful. The fan blades spin but they don t lower the attic. 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.

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. 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. An attic fan is installed on the slanted side of your roof or on one of the gable sides of your attic. Solar attic fans are not needed in brand new construction homes.

Instead of installing a fan just make sure your attic is well ventilated. Attic ventilation fans could be effective if your home has. So is it truly worth it to add a solar attic fan on an older home. Venting a homes attic is a very important best building practices will say 50 at the ridge and 50 at the soffits unobstructed.

Do not use mechanical means electric attic fans. Their energy efficiency is already extraordinary. Attic fans exhaust hot air from your attic to the outside. As a certified licensed home inspector it is not correct to say too much ventilation is bad for an attic unless rain moisture is getting in.

If the attic fan keeps the house cool enough so that the owners leave the ac off there is almost certainly an energy benefit. Find out whether it is economical to run an attic fan. 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. Of course if the attic fan isn t working correctly and is running all year long that would be a significant problem.

Attic insulation that is less than r 19. 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. How an attic fan works. 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.

It may be starting to sound like attic ventilation fans aren t worth the hassle and could cause more problems than they solve.