Do Solar Attic Fans Work

Good insulation reduces fan effectiveness.

Do solar attic fans work.

It was almost magical to see the solar attic fan work. Even if you install it yourself and take the tax credit it could still take you 15 years or. However the utility of attic ventilation fans is actually quite a controversial topic. 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.

The downside of attic ventilation fans. 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. 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. 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.

A solar powered attic fan provides constant steady air flow throughout your attic. 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. You will probably need two solar attic fans to get the results you want. That means you will need to double up your investment in this area.

But passive ventilation does not. The attic fan just helps the air move more which adds cooler air circulation. If you ve ever been in your attic you know just hot the space can get especially in summer months. Attic fans exhaust hot air from your attic to the outside.

How does a solar powered attic fan work. Building codes require homes to have a passive vent system. If a cloud blocks the sunlight the fans slow or stop. As result stale warm air is vented out giving more room for fresh cool air also known as air exchange your attic should never be hotter than 10 25 above the outside air temperature in the summer time.

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. But they re much easier to install since no wiring is needed. Solar powered attic vent fans usually don t move as many cubic feet of air per minute cfm as hardwired fans. You re a pretty clever guy to get the sun to do double duty.

Free fast bids. This is basically how air naturally moves. The sun beats down on the roof surface and heats up the stagnant air inside the attic. 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 work by pulling in the cold air from the soffits and pushing out the hot air that has accumulated at the top of the attic. How an attic fan works. It makes perfect sense to make the sun cool your attic space since it is the source of the problem in the first place.