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.
How your hous attic fan works.
However the utility of attic ventilation fans is actually quite a controversial topic.
How an attic fan works.
The whole house fan pulls air in from open windows and exhausts it through the attic and roof.
Attic fans are intended to cool hot attics by drawing in cooler outside air from attic vents soffit and gable and pushing hot air to the outside.
The downside of attic ventilation fans.
Good insulation reduces fan effectiveness.
Attic fans exhaust hot air from your attic to the outside.
It provides good attic ventilation in addition to whole house cooling.
Whole house fans work on the principle of removing the hot and humid air out of the house.
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.
Because whole house fans were cheaper than air conditioners and worked well they began being used in the 1950s primarily in the south.
An attic fan is installed on the slanted side of your roof or on one of the gable sides of your attic.
Many people confuse a whole house fan with an attic fan but the two accomplish different goals.
It helps to cool your home temperatures and the attic by approximately 30 degrees.
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.
The whole house fan is installed inside the attic between the living space and ceiling.