Attic Ventilation Fans Pros And Cons

If a solar powered fan won t work for your location you ll need to hard wire one in.

Attic ventilation fans pros and cons.

First the air in the attic is generally warmer than in the rest of the house owing to the fact that hot air rises. List of the pros of solar attic fans 1. This option runs on a renewable energy resource. More costly than traditional models solar attic fans are most costly on the front end than traditional attic fans but the initial expense is ultimately made up in energy savings over time.

The most significant benefit of solar attic fans is that they operate using renewable energy from the sun instead of being hooked up to your electrical grid. Heating and ventilation pros can work out the right system so that your hvac system is never working harder than it should which means keeping your attic out of the equation. Choices in attic ventilators most homeowners will benefit from adding roof mounted fans or gable mounted fans to keep ventilation at the right level. Attic fans will circulate the air and remove excess heat.

Even though one is less difficult both projects should only be tackled by professionals. Also if the house is leaky the fan could actively be pulling warmer air from the home or other areas of the roof. Installing a smaller fan on the roofline 1or in the gable is easier than putting a much larger fan in the ceiling of the home. 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.

Cons of solar attic fans there are also a number of negative points to keep in mind when you re considering installing a solar attic fan in your home. While attic fans provide the same kind of ventilation of roof vents there are a few downsides. While there aren t many solar attic fans do have a few cons like these. Unfortunately attic vents on their own do not complete the job as well.

Therefore using attic fans helps to eliminate humidity which in effect extends the life of your roof. While they generally help exhaust superheated air from your attic there is a risk they pull air conditioned air from your home. The best time to run an attic fan therefore is in the evening after the sun sets and ideally when the temperature outside is below 70 f. Keeping your home comfortable is expensive both in summer s heat and winter s cold.

Attic humidity can compromise the structure of the roof. Attic fans are more energy efficient than air conditioners as they ll typically use no more than 10 to 15 percent of the power needed to run an air conditioner making an attic fan a more affordable cooling option.