Do You Really Need An Attic Fan

Conditions that may make it necessary for you to have an attic fan include.

Do you really need an attic fan. Whole house fans need windows and doors open and attic fans need lots of soffit vents to suck. Yes an attic fan is definitely strong enough to do that because there are hundreds of holes in the structure of the house that allow it to do that. Having small insulation spaces in the attic if the attic space is less than r 19 you will need an attic fan. Electric attic fans however often increase energy consumption and cancel out any savings unless the attic is not insulated at all.

A ridge vent is an opening along the ridge of your roof. For both fans to work well they need large exhaust openings in the roof for the moving air to exit. This backdraft can bring dangerous and toxic fumes into your home like carbon monoxide an odorless and deadly gas. To reduce that expense some homeowners buy an electric or solar attic ventilator.

This fan moves 1 000 or more cubic feet of air per minute creating low pressure in your attic. An attic fan may be needed in your home sometimes. This prevents hot air from seeping into your home and driving up the temperature in the living space which reduces the load on your air conditioner. The point of having an attic fan is to lessen the load on your ac system saving you money.

Studies have shown if your attic is properly ventilated with a ridge vent and your attic is well insulated you wouldn t need an attic fan. Because what happens is attic fans are so strong that they actually reach down into the conditioned space of your house and they do that by using the wall cavities and where the outlets and pipes come through the walls as places where they draw air from the inside of your house it s that air conditioned air and it ll pull it right up into the attic and exhaust it outside. When should you use an attic fan.