Solar attic fans have today gained a good reputation as they help to cool your home by using solar energy. The solar attic fans are the perfect choice for cooling your home in summer and also prevent ice dams in winter. Like the solar panels, the solar attic fan makes use of photovoltaic panels to convert the energy from the sun into electrical power. The electricity generated from the fan can be used for turning the fan motor that helps to exhaust the air from your home’s attic.
The benefit of solar attic fan can be experienced in summer when it helps to bring down the temperature in the attic to 5-10 degrees F from the 160 degrees F mark. The attic hence gets ventilated which reduces the heat transferred from the attic to your home. Hence there is lesser amount of pressure on the air conditioning system to cool your rooms. As a result your electricity costs come down considerably and you are contributing in your own way towards the sustainability of the environment. Even the life of your roof also gets extended because of solar attic fans.
Solar attic fans also prevent ice water trickling down from the roof when the snow melts. The solar attic fan, in fact performs the best when the sun’s rays are the strongest. The fan also promotes fresh air circulation and prevents moisture related problems. There are no operating or maintenance cists involved for using solar attic fans. There is no electrician or installer required to install the fan. You can install the solar attic fan on your own. The fan has a quite operation and it does not make any noise at all.
Hence we see that with the help of solar attic fans you can save on considerable electricity costs. Your installation will pay itself off in a maximum of two summers. The fan should not be switched in when the air from the living areas is freely entering the attic area as the conditioned air will be removed from your house. Hence you should seal any openings between the home and the attic before installing the solar fan.
However you should see to it that properly sized attic vents are installed to allow fresh to enter the attic area so that hot air can be replaced by the solar attic fan. Remember to install the fan away from gable and ridge vents.