Should you invest in an attic fan?
If you find that your air conditioning bills are through the roof, or that you have a hard time getting your home cool during the summer, then an attic fan may be a good solution for you. Similarly, if you use your attic for something other than storage -- say, it doubles as your home office -- then you absolutely need that space to be comfortable.
Does your house have an attic fan?
The whole house fan is installed inside the attic between the living space and ceiling. It helps to cool your home temperatures and the attic by approximately 30 degrees.
Does an attic fan really cool off your house?
This is probably not the case. An attic’s fan cools and ventilates the space, bringing attics to outside temperatures instead of allowing them to warm to extreme temperatures. Therefore, your air conditioning will not need to work as hard. However, an attic fan will not cool an entire house.
Is an attic fan worth it?
Short answer, YES! Solar Powered Attic Fan’s can save you thousands on cooling costs. If you experience extreme heat and want to help cool your house during the summer, you should read this post. I had a customer complaining about how hot it gets in his attic in the summer!
Does a fan need to be on its own circuit?
If the vent fan has a built-in heater, it must have its own 20-amp circuit. This is called a "dedicated" circuit because it serves only one appliance or fixture. Heat lamps, wall heaters, and other built-in heating appliances may also require dedicated circuits.
How many amps does an attic fan need?
An attic fan will typically need 4 to 5 amps of service. A standard 15-amp home circuit can handle up to 10 electrical boxes that service a light or electrical outlet. Homes with a 20-amp circuit can handle up to 13 boxes.
Do attic fans run on electricity?
On average, an attic fan uses less than 300 watts of electricity. If it were to run constantly, it would use up to about 180 kWh per month. Unfortunately, this cost can add up.
Are attic fans hardwired?
Attic fans may be wired in several different ways. Usually, the fan is hardwired directly into an electric circuit, and is controlled by a thermostat most commonly ranging from 60 °F (16 °C) to 120 °F (49 °C). It may also be hardwired but controlled by a switch.
Does quiet cool need a dedicated circuit?
None of our QuietCool models require a dedicated circuit to operate correctly. All QuietCool models run between 1 to 10 amps and should work fine on all existing services.
How many amps does a house fan pull?
Typically, a ceiling fan will use less than one amp whenever it is running. Low settings use less amps than medium or high settings. For example, a 120-volt ceiling fan on a low setting will use 0.17 amps. A medium setting will pull 0.58 amps, and a high setting will draw 0.65 amps.
Do attic fans really cool down a house?
An attic's fan cools and ventilates the space, bringing attics to outside temperatures instead of allowing them to warm to extreme temperatures. Therefore, your air conditioning will not need to work as hard. However, an attic fan will not cool an entire house.
Are attic fans a good idea?
Even if your roof already has ridge vents and plenty of ventilation built in, it's a good idea to install gable fans or roof fans to help blow hot, humid air out of the attic. Attic ventilation fans also tend to be quite energy-efficient in terms of their own operation.
Is it OK to run an attic fan all night?
Running your attic fan for too long runs the risk of blowing out the fan motor. Further, nighttime is usually cooler, so you do not need to run your attic fan as often. It is ok to run the fan for a few hours at a time, but then you should let it cool off before firing it up again.
How do you wire an attic fan?
0:0917:03DIY Attic Fan Wiring & Fan Installation Guide for Attics & Gable VentsYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd stick a little cutout with the with the fan on to facilitate the cooling. So I'm rebuilding a aMoreAnd stick a little cutout with the with the fan on to facilitate the cooling. So I'm rebuilding a a cross piece that goes this way. Then have another piece that goes up here to frame in the gable.
Are attic fans a waste of money?
While attic fans will certainly suck air out of your attic, the problem is that this air needs to be replaced. Where does the air come from? Some of it will come from the soffit vents, and some will come from attic air leaks. If you have problems with ice dams, a LOT of air will come from attic air leaks.
What's the difference between an attic fan and a whole house fan?
In a nutshell, whole house fans are designed to run after sundown, using cool night air to ventilate and cool your entire living space. Attic fans are designed to run on hot sunny days to clear super-heated air from your attic.
Do attic fans make a difference?
Attic fans can make a difference in a number of ways. In the summer, a properly installed attic fan can remove excessive heat build up, providing c...
Do attic fans really cool down a house?
Attic fans can help your house feel cooler on hot days. With that being said, they are not going to cool your entire house. To maximize the cooling...
Are attic fans good or bad?
Attic fans are good at what they do: removing unwanted heat and moisture from an attic. They have earned a bad reputation because of poor quality p...
Should an attic fan run all the time?
Running an attic fan all the time in theory is a good idea. You want your attic to be close to the outside temperature. However, if you have a powe...
Why do we need attic fans?
Attic fans are critical because they are designed to cool off the attic providing relief to the unbearable temperatures of your home. Note that they do not push air in the house but draw fresh air into the attic enabling your house to cool almost instantly.
How does an attic fan work?
The main work of an attic fan is to regulate the heat level of the attic by removing hot air out of the attic and pushing it outside, providing needed ventilation. Attic fans come with different models; some can have manual switches while others use a thermostat to turn them on and off automatically.
What is solar attic fan?
Solar attic fans run on solar power. They exhaust the hot heated air out of the attic and replace it with cold air from outside. Typically, It will reduce the work your Air conditioner will have to do to cool your house.
How does cold air work in the attic?
Cold air is drawn in from outside through the soffit vents or roof. In simple terms, it replaces the hot air in the attic with fresh air from outside. Your attic gets to breathe with clean air, and so your house, plus, you reduce the load of your AC. Attic passive vents are crucial for your home.
How does a whole house fan work?
Whole house fans work on the principle of removing the hot and humid air out of the house; the warm air escapes through the attic and to the attic vents allowing the circulation of chilly air from the windows.
How do ventilator fans cool the attic?
Powered attic ventilator fans designed to cool your attic by drawing the hot and humid air out of the attic, and bring in a flow of chilly air from outside. You place the fans on the gable walls of your attic.
How much does it cost to install an attic fan?
It might cost you approximately $300 – $ 600, for purchase, and up to $550 when you include labor.
How to tell if your attic is hot?
Common signs of an overly hot attic are asphalt shingles with corners curled up, or bulges in the felt and shingles directly over the seams in the sheathing. On cold winter days, look for frost inside the attic. This frost is trapped moisture, which, if not allowed to escape, can rot the entire roof.
How many boxes can a 15 amp circuit serve?
A 15-amp circuit can serve 10 boxes and a 20-amp circuit, 13. If you find a circuit with 4 or 5 amps to spare, you're in luck. If not, go back to the service panel and fish 14-2 w/g cable into the attic. In our case, we were able to tap a nearby 15-amp circuit that powered pull-chain lights in our attic.
Can venting in attic cause high temperatures?
You may not spend much time thinking about attic ventilation, but if you own your own home, you owe it to yourself to give the subject serious thought. Inadequate venting leads to high attic temperatures that can reduce comfort, raise utility bills and shorten the useful life of roofing materials.
Do soffit vents need to be cleared?
And finally, check your existing soffit vents to make sure they're not clogged with debris. On hot days, the air movement through these vents is strong enough to pull light seeds from trees and bushes right into the vent screens. Clogged vents will need to be cleared if your new fan is to work properly.
Why is an attic fan important?
In general, a high-quality attic fan can provide ongoing active ventilation to protect your, support insulation systems, and help provide some cooling benefits in certain climates.
Why do attic fans cost less?
Because attic fans take away some of the work that your air conditioning would be doing, you will spend less on running your air conditioning. However, running an electric fan in attics could mean the cost just goes towards the attics rather than the air conditioner.
How long does a solar attic fan last?
Your fan will run 12 months of the year without costing you a dime after installation. Read our review on the best solar attic fans.
What is an attic vent?
They are one of the more popular types of attic vents. When installed on the ceiling of your attic, they circulate the air at the top of your house. The fan takes the hot and humid air that sits in your attic, circulates it, and pushes it out of the house’s upper space.
How to reduce air conditioning in attic?
By cooling down your attic, you can decrease your air conditioning. Your air conditioner is currently having to work against the sauna that is sitting on top of your living space. Give it a hand by cooling your home’s upper space to outdoor temperatures before your turn up the AC. Cool down a second story in your home.
How hot is the attic?
As attics reach 150-160 degrees, much hotter than it even is outside, this can warm your house overall. You can even take your own attic’s temperature to see how hot yours is. Alternatively, you can schedule an attic inspection to get more detailed insights from thermal imaging tools.
Does an attic fan cool the entire house?
Therefore, your air conditioning will not need to work as hard. However, an attic fan will not cool an entire house.
Why do you need an attic fan?
When your stored items include things like your family's heirloom holiday decorations, you may be compelled to install an attic fan to mitigate the damage they may sustain from intense attic heat. Even if you don't store many items in your attic, you may want to install an attic fan to save money on your cooling bills.
What is an attic fan?
Attic fans pull in cooler air from outside your home's building envelope — its external structure and insulation layer, including the walls and roof — while pushing the hot air inside the attic to the outside . Your home's soffit vents, gable vents and ridge vents are key players in attic-fan functionality because these roof vents enable ...
What is the role of roof in attic heat?
The inordinate amount of heat in attic spaces (compared to conditioned air in living spaces) starts with the sun, of course, but your home's roof plays a role in intensifying this heat. Roofing materials, particularly dark-colored asphalt shingles, absorb heat and conduct it downward to the roof deck.
Why does my furnace blow out the pilot light?
When the pilot light is extinguished, the furnace may expel gas into the attic.
Can a crawl space fan pull mold?
Inhaling mold spores that your attic fan may pull from the damp recesses of your basement or crawl space is only one potential health and safety hazard associated with these fans.
Can an attic fan pull air out of a basement?
Other than pulling conditioned air from your living spaces, attic fans can also reach beyond these areas and pull air from your basement or crawl space. The moist conditions that exist in many basements and crawl spaces can be a breeding ground for mold. If your attic fan is pulling this moldy air from your basement or crawl space ...
How to tell if you have a leaking attic?
Look for dark areas in your insulation, which are telltale signs that dusty air is leaking from your living spaces into the attic. Wear gloves and be careful not to get the expanding foam onto your clothes because it's hard to remove after it dries without damaging your clothing.