When do i use my attic fan

Then, because the gable end is a triangle, divide this by 2 to get square feet. Now multiple this number by the length of your attic 40 to get a grand total volume of 4, cubic feet. Most attic spaces are unfortunately not this simple. Common techniques required to calculate volume include the area of a triangle, the area of a rectangle, volume calculations, and the Pythagorean theorem. It helps to sketch the space out and break it into manageable sections as you perform the math.

Often, this is written in the format of a number followed by CFM cubic feet per minute. Sometimes you will not be able to find the cubic feet per minute of your fan written anywhere. Now divide the cubic volume of your attic by the CFM of your fam to get the number of minutes needed for your running fan to replace the air in your attic.

For example, a CFM fan divided by a 4, cubic foot attic results in 20 minutes of fan run time. If the math involved in this process is not an option, you can test the time needed in person.

Wearing the proper personal protective equipment, head up into your attic. Now, find an out-of-the-way area on the far end of the attic. Turn the fan on, start a timer, and wait for the cooler air to hit you. Use this as an estimate of how long it takes your fan to replace your attic air. Often, attic fans are equipped with thermometers and hygrometer switches a hygrometer measures humidity.

This allows you to set humidity or temperature at which the fan automatically turns on. Generally, set your attic fan to anywhere between 95 degrees and degrees. However, like for temperature, if you live in a very humid area, you do not want to set the fan, so it runs all the time.

The timers take the guesswork out of deciding how frequently to run your attic fan. However, if your fan is switch operated, you have some decisions to make. Read the following sub-sections to learn how to decide the approximate frequency you should run your attic fan. An attic heats up fast in the summer. The fan will circulate the air, which could prevent any of this excessive moisture and potential damage.

Many people may get caught up in the promises of a fan for the top of the house. Therefore, your air conditioning will not need to work as hard. However, an attic fan will not cool an entire house. Now, what about the cost? 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.

So are attic fans good or bad? Well, there is thankfully an alternative to choosing between no attic fan or paying for an electric attic fan. Solar attic fans work just like electric fans and have all the same benefits.

The difference is that after you pay to install them, you never pay for them again. They run on solar energy. So the only thing powering your attic fan is the sun rather than your electric bill. This means that with a solar fan in your attic, you can take the pressure of your air conditioning without paying for it in your attic.

Unlike electric attic fans, this can actually end up saving you money every month, especially in the hottest weeks of summer. But a solar attic fan will do everything that you would want your electric unit to do. It will push out hot air in the summer. In extremely warm climates it has been scientifically proved to cool the attic by an average of 20 degrees. And it will keep your attic dry in the winter, preventing future costly roofing and maintenance issues.

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. Now you know everything there is to know about how attic fans work, and you may be getting a good idea of whether it may be right for your home.

But are attic fans good or bad? One of our clients called to say that their second floor was extremely hot and requested we install a larger and more powerful attic fan. The client had decided a new fan was needed to replace a solar unit they had installed several years ago. On inspection, I found the villain in the attic exactly as the customer described. A single, roof mounted, solar powered attic exhaust fan.

It was working. There was no other ducting or HVAC equipment in the attic. The temperature of the roof sheathing inside the attic was degrees.

I explained to our client that the idea of attic fans to remove hot air from the attic area might seem logical. But they actually might need a bigger and better solution.

Imagine yourself laying in the sun on a beach in Cancun. All is good for about 5 minutes then you start to feel hot. You go and get a big fan and set it up to blow air over you. Ah, feels better for about another 5 minutes. Soon even the blowing air feels hot, so you exchange the fan for an air conditioner and let that blow cold air on you. Feels great now so you stay out in the sun till you notice that your skin is red and blistered and burned to a crisp.

What happened? You got zapped by UV rays, a form of invisible radiant heat! Radiant heat zips right through cold air without any affect and cooks your skin. So, what does that have to do with your house? The roof structure of your Home An assembly of materials that enclose a weatherproof space for human living. Radiation from the sun heats the surface of the roof. From there, the entire mass of the roof roofing, roof paper, nails, sheathing, rafters warms up through conduction.

This radiant heat passes down through the attic space and hits the material on the surface of the ceiling structure insulation , wood joists, drywall , ducting etc. Very quickly the entire mass of the ceiling structure also becomes a giant heat radiator. This heat moves back up towards the roof again and will continue to radiate heat well after the sun goes down. If your ceiling is not sealed airtight and extremely well-insulated, much of this heat is going to radiate downward into your home too.

Air in the attic that comes in contact with the surfaces of the hot framing, will become heated through conduction. This creates a kind of hot air sandwich formed between the roof and ceiling structures. The warming of all these surfaces is why the attic interior gets so much hotter than the exterior temperature.

Help diagnose hard-to-find heat-loss areas, and pinpoint water leaks behind walls with new Thermal imaging cameras. On average our clients see a 4-degree temperature drop on their second floor after we have installed an attic fan.

Call us today to set up your appointment and keep cool for the summer! Providing local home and business owners with cost effective safe, and professional electrical services. Do Attic Fans Really Work? How many attics fans do I need? What is the best attic fan? Where are attic fans installed? How much does it cost to have an attic fan installed? How long do attic fans last? Longer Life For Your Roof Did you know that reducing the temperature in the attic can actually extend the life of your roof?

Phenomenal Service!!!!! Quintessential professional…would hands down as for Michael Wendell again! He knows his craft!!! Andrea Severn. Great customer service Larry was fantastic.

He explained the situation clearly, and did his best to find a least costly solution to our problem. The work was completed efficiently and professionally. Joan Ellicott City.