Do Solar Attic Fans Work

Attic ventilation fans whether hard wired or powered by their own solar panels seem like a low cost and effective way to help keep your house cool.

Do solar attic fans work. When installed properly on a roof with standard asphalt shingles solar powered attic fans do not require caulk roofing cement or any other product to prevent leaks. This pressure balance improvement and the cooling provided by the air flow are most significant in the case of a leaky. Depending on what your utility charges that s about 40 per year. How an attic fan works.

Whole house fans work on the principle of removing the hot and humid air out of the house. Because solar attic fans operate with a lower power output they are unable to move as much air as some of the other options that are available. It helps to cool your home temperatures and the attic by approximately 30 degrees. However if your attic has blocked soffit vents and is not well sealed from the rest of the house attic fans will suck cool conditioned air up out of the house and into the.

To determine the number of cubic feet per minute needed for a power vent fan multiply the number of square feet in your attic by 0 7. For the attic fans to work at peak efficiency they need to be on a south facing roof slope if you live in the northern hemisphere. 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. An attic fan is installed on the slanted side of your roof or on one of the gable sides of your attic.

Exhausting moderate amounts of attic air as solar fans do can counteract this reducing infiltration my calculations show it to be about right for a vented attic but either do the calculations or measure the pressures. That means you will need to double up your investment in this area. You will probably need two solar attic fans to get the results you want. If a cloud blocks the sunlight the fans slow or stop.

But they re much easier to install since no wiring is needed. A great roofer will cut the shingles and lace the fan housing into the shingles so that rain will stay outdoors where it belongs. The downside of attic ventilation fans. Danny s tests of solar attic fans showed that in florida where there s abundant solar energy yearly savings from installing two fans in a house with just over 1 000 square feet of air conditioned floor area amounted to only 460 kwh.

Even if you install it yourself and take the tax credit it could still take you 15 years or. Good insulation reduces fan effectiveness. Attic fans exhaust hot air from your attic to the outside. The warm air escapes through the attic and to the attic vents allowing the circulation of chilly air from the windows.

Solar powered attic vent fans usually don t move as many cubic feet of air per minute cfm as hardwired fans.