Everything you need to know about attic fan

Are there any attic fans in your home to assist keep it cool all through the summer? It’s time to learn more about this useful home accessory if you aren’t currently knowledgeable about it.

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However, many property owners believe that they shouldn’t purchase an attic fan to cool their attic because nobody uses it. The attic’s temperature can have a detrimental impact on the temperature of the rest of your home, thus that is why. Your air conditioner must work harder if you are spending money to run it but the attic continues to be sweltering hot.

Well, in this article I’ll be discussing about attic fan as the following questions will be discussed:

What is attic fan?
What are the types of attic fan?
What are the uses of attic fan?
What are the attic fan materials?
What are the attic fan safety measures?
What are the attic fan maintenance?
What are the factors of attic fan?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of attic fan?

Ok, let’s dive in!

Contents

What is attic fan?

An attic fan is exactly what it sounds like—it’s a fan that is mounted on the attic ceiling. In order to function, it pulls hot, muggy air from your attic and expels it outside. This strengthens your HVAC system and provides much-needed ventilation.

However, did you know that attics may reach temperatures of more than 160 degrees during the sweltering summer months? Consider what that would do to your home’s temperature.

What are the types of attic fan?

Many people are guilty of ignoring their attics, which are occasionally utilized as storage. They are susceptible to shifting weather and temperatures, just like roofs, which could have an impact on how comfortable your home is. As your attic absorbs the heat from your roof, attic fans are an energy-efficient technology that helps your attic cool down.

However, they guard against mold growth and roofing system damage during the cold and wet seasons.

Below are the types of attic fan:

Attic Vent Fans
Whole House Fans
Solar and Electric Attic Fans
Broan-NuTone 35316 Gable Mount Attic Ventilator
Broan 356BK Roof Mounted Attic Fan

Attic Vent Fans

Attic vents moderate summertime heat just like whole-house fans.

However, attic vents can help prevent ice dams from harming your gutter and roof shingles. An attic vent simply extracts warm air from your attic, unlike entire house fans. Then, your soffits and the cold, dry air from the outside are drawn inside by the vents. By doing this, your roof can maintain a cool temperature, preventing snow from melting on heated regions and forming ice dams. It’s not necessary to leave your attic vents open all the time.

Your attic vents are controlled automatically by devices like a thermostat, timer, or humidistat, which also lowers your electricity expenditure. Make sure there are no openings in your attic for best results.

Whole House Fans

Whole house fans can quickly chill your home if you need something to do so. The fan can quickly pull in cool air from the outside and push out heated air from within thanks to the air exchange process. For better air quality, they also eliminate allergies, pollen, and other contaminants. Install this fan only in open, vented attics so the air may escape. It is typically installed between the attic and the living area.

However, moisture could become trapped and encourage the growth of mold. For a cooler breeze in the morning or evening, keep your entire house fan on. Consult a specialist to determine whether you require a ducted whole-house fan, a regular whole-house fan, or an insulated door whole-house fan.

Solar and Electric Attic Fans

Furthermore, not as strong as an electric fan, a solar-powered attic fan or roof vent does greatly enhance airflow in the attic. Your attic can get up to 150 degrees during the hottest months if you don’t have an attic fan. The fan maintains a constant airflow through the attic, but if too much air is exchanged between the attic and the outdoors, moisture from snow and rain can seep in. A humidity management system in your attic is also advised in regions of the country with significant humidity or wetness to stop moisture problems. Rooftop and gable end electrical/solar attic fans are the two most popular models.

However, solar-powered models are the most expensive yet use green electric power, electric fans are more powerful and cost-effective. Any attic fan you install should include a programmed thermostat and a first, which turns the fan off in the event of a fire, no matter what you decide. To keep pests out of your attic, stay away from plastic options and choose for versions that are entirely made of metal and have sturdy screens.

Broan-NuTone 35316 Gable Mount Attic Ventilator

Consider purchasing the 35316 model from Broan for a high-quality, long-lasting ventilator that can survive the harsh climate.

However, the Broan 35316 model features greater attic coverage of up to 2,280 square feet when compared to the model above. With 1,600 CFM, you can expect a cool attic in a matter of minutes.

Broan 356BK Roof Mounted Attic Fan

Try Broan’s 356BK attic fan if the solar roof attic fan is not for you. A PVC dome and an adjustable thermostat are included with this roof attic fan. The 356BK can cover up to 2,285 square feet of attic space and has a 14-inch steel blade.

However, the drawback: It can be too loud. Install this attic fan far from your bedroom if you don’t like the buzzing sound.

What are the uses of attic fan?

By pulling in cooler outside air from attic vents (soffit and gable), attic fans are designed to cool hot attics by forcing hot air outside.

What are the attic fan materials?

Durable materials that can tolerate heat, cold, or moisture are necessary for high-quality fans. Steer clear of delicate items like plastic that could break during the cold. No of the season, metal fans are more long-lasting and durable.

What are the attic fan safety measures?

Your attic fan’s safety is equally important as its upkeep. Depending on the sort of fan you’re using and the state of your attic, problems could develop. In order to save space, some attics feature furnaces or generators, which may not work well with an attic fan because it can instead force gas into your dwellings. The fan may help a fire spread more quickly throughout the house.

However, make sure your attic is properly ventilated as one way to avert a disaster. To help you control your attic fan, you can also look for automatic control capabilities. When in doubt, seek professional advice.

What are the attic fan maintenance?

You won’t likely go up there more than a few times a year unless you turn it into a bedroom or office. Furthermore, an effective but low-maintenance attic fan is required.

However, most attic fans only need to have their fan blades and shutters cleaned once a year. Some attic fans feature lifetime lubricated motors, which is an additional benefit. To avoid malfunction, the circuit breaker and thermostat must also be quickly checked.

What are the factors of attic fan?

However, the obvious benefits of keeping your attic cool and removing moisture, attic fans have some additional advantages that many owners are unaware of.

Below are the major factors of attic fan:

Makeup Air
Attic Insulation

Makeup Air

Do you have enough makeup or intake air in your attic? A sufficient quantity of passive venting must be present for an attic fan to draw air from in order for it to function correctly.

However, the attic fan will draw conditioned air from the inside of the house if there is insufficient passive venting occurring in the attic through the gable vents, soffit vent, single passive vents, etc.

Attic Insulation

Is the insulation in your attic good? Because hot air rises, a poorly insulated attic will continue to let interior warm air into the attic during the winter and will radiate heat into the house like a furnace during the summer.

However, make sure your insulation is sufficient before you even think about installing an attic fan.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of attic fan?

Advantages

Below are the advantages of attic fan:

Eliminate Ice Damming.
Stop Mold Growth.
Cooler House.
Asphalt Roof Protection.

Disadvantages

Below are the disadvantages of attic fan:

Roof Leak Risk.
May Increase Energy Costs.
Carbon Monoxide Risk.

Attic fan FAQs

Are attic fans a good idea?

However, attic fans can be beneficial in a number of ways. An attic space can be cooled in the summer by an attic fan that has been correctly installed. By minimizing unwelcome heat flow into your living space, this helps relieve pressure on your insulation systems.

What does an attic fan do?

By pulling in cooler outside air from attic vents (soffit and gable), attic fans are designed to cool hot attics by forcing hot air outside.

Why are attic fans not used anymore?

Attic fans’ reliance on the pre-existing attic vents (at the soffits, ridge, or gables) to supply the air they exhaust is one factor in their inefficiency. These attic vents often aren’t made for this use.

However, they might not be able to provide adequate replacement air.

What are the pros and cons of an attic fan?

Attic fans draw warm air from the attic, which can help keep your home’s interior cooler as well.

However, your home may receive air from a hot attic, forcing your air conditioner to run longer and harder. This can shorten the lifespan of your units in addition to raising your electricity cost.

Are attic fans better than AC?

Attic fans are a more cost-effective cooling solution than air conditioners because they typically consume just 10 to 15 percent of the power required to run an air conditioner.

Does attic fan help air conditioning?

Attic fans are intended to help cool your home, but are they actually effective? Furthermore, it is the answer. By eliminating the heat from the top of the house, attic fans reduce your need for air conditioning.

However, they can assist in cooling the second level, and they can even stop moisture from accumulating beneath your roof.

What is an attic fan called?

Attic ventilation fans, often known as motorized attic ventilators or just “attic fans,” are exhaust fans that are installed in the attic’s roof or gable wall.

Do attic fans use electricity?

How much energy does a typical electric attic fan use? An attic fan often consumes less power than 300 watts. Attic fans normally run occasionally to balance indoor and outdoor temperatures; if they ran continuously, they may consume up to 180 kWh per month.

What is the attic fan called?

attic fan with electricity

The fan, which is sometimes referred to as a power attic ventilator, or PAV, removes hot air from the attic when activated by a thermostat situated there.

However, a healthy air cycle requires an air intake, which is typically found in the soffit, under the eave, or under the fascia of the roof.

What is the difference between attic fan and exhaust fan?

Furthermore, whole house fans are made to run after sundown, using the cold night air to ventilate and cool your entire home. Attic fans are intended to run on hot, bright days to remove your attic’s excessively warm air.

However, they perform different tasks, both can be valuable.

That is all for this article, where we’ve discussed the answers to the following questions:

What is attic fan?
What are the types of attic fan?
What are the uses of attic fan?
What are the attic fan materials?
What are the attic fan safety measures?
What are the attic fan maintenance?
What are the factors of attic fan?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of attic fan?

I hope you learn a lot from the reading. If you do, kindly share it with others. Thanks for reading; see you around!