Attic Fans Good or Bad? Be Careful if You Do
Вставка
- Опубліковано 1 сер 2024
- Are attic fans good or bad? In this informative video, I focus on your attic fan's role in maintaining a cool and energy-efficient home as the warmer months approach. Highlighting a common yet often overlooked problem, we explore how unsealed attics-with their gaps, cracks, and holes-not only diminish the efficiency of attic fans but also lead to significant energy waste and inflated utility bills.
Citing the U.S. Department of Energy, I highlight that homeowners can save up to 15% on heating and cooling costs by air-sealing their homes and adding insulation in key areas, including the attic【1】. Additionally, the information in this video supports Energy Vanguard's Dr. Allison Bailes' blog post titled "Is It Ever Helpful to Use a Powered Attic Ventilator?" 【2】.
Through actual demonstrations and thermal imaging, this video provides a slightly different perspective on thinking about an attic fan - either the one you currently have or the one you may be considering purchasing and installing.
The big tip in this video is that you should inspect and seal your attic to ensure the optimal performance of your attic fan. By underscoring the importance of well-sealed attic space, we equip viewers with the essential knowledge to enhance their home's energy efficiency, reduce cooling expenses, and maximize the effectiveness of their attic fan.
References:
1. U.S. Department of Energy. "Energy Saver: Tips on Saving Money and Energy at Home." [www.energystar.gov/saveathome...]
2. Dr. Allison Bailes - Energy Vanguard [www.energyvanguard.com/blog/i...]
00:00 Your attic needs an inspection before the summer
00:24 What does an attic fan do?
00:39 The issue with attic fans
01:01 Actual demonstration with an attic fan running
01:25 Importance of a well-sealed attic
01:51 IR images on a hot day with the fan running
02:10 Practical solutions so your fan is working optimally
02:54 Subscribe to @homeairleakagetest
If you would like to learn more about my home performance company or get in touch, please visit www.hometrustremodeling.com or ericgans.com.
Unlock Your Home's Full Potential - Hometrust Remodeling, Your Trusted Partner in Maryland Home Performance
If you are looking to join a growing community of energy auditors, please visit our Facebook Group: / 384354076839150
Here is a group for homeowners looking for more information about the Inflation Reduction Act Rebates / homesrebatesprograminfo
I installed a whole house fane in my home. We lived in an area that often saw 90 degree plus days. The back yard was cool and shady, the front was an oven due to lack of trees. I would turn on my whole house fan and send all the hot air in the house up into my attic. The vents and fans in the attic would exhaust it. I only ran this system when I had the back window open, or it was evening. It worked well, but it was a manually operated, just a simple on off switch that turned on my whole hose fan and attic fans at the same time.
Okay, I am liking this air conveyor system. You are taking two things that I am not fully convinced are worth the effort/$ and combining their forces to become a productive part of the equation. Personally, I would continue to work towards a really well established insulation boundary with proper air sealing and proper insulation techniques. Over the long, the benefits of investing in insulation will outweigh a nifty air circulator, but it will likely cost more than your solution. Thanks for your comments and it seems you have moved...what is your scenario now?
@@homeairleakagetest The house was well insulated, and sealed. I sold it a while back, but in a hot environment, i never needed AC....well it might have been nice a few times!
I just installed a Fan and it works way better! I bought bunch of insulation and sealed all leaks and nothing heat from the roof kept my attic super hot. Installed a Remington Solar Attic fan and it is wonderful, temperature is better, lower rooms are cooler and im saying on my bill
Sweet!
Woo....I lived in Tahus..Sorry Texas and we had a the attic fan. We had a different configuration which we would have the attic fan in the center of the house and we open windows from inside the house and the air from outside flew through the house and through the attic and out through the Attic what is your observation of this?
I think I got what you are saying here! That is what I consider to be a whole-house fan. That fan is in a ceiling and connects from inside to the attic, as you mentioned. The attic fan is positioned on the roof and is there to draw air from the attic to the outside and help the ventilation process. That is the video's main point; sometimes, the negative pressure can draw your cool AC in through gaps and cracks in the attic floor if they are not sealed. A whole-house fan can be great, but it can also be a huge source of air leakage. If it is of the older variety, you can bank on it unless you have it covered and sealed in some fashion. Newer whole-house fans are covered and are more efficient (when not in use), so if you have one of those, you should be in good shape!
I always see videos on "mights." i haven't found a video that shows before and afters. Air will take the path of least resistance. So if you have soffit vents and do the calculation of vent to cfm of a fan and keep the cfm of the fan around the amount of vent flow you should get you can achieve a much cooler attic with out hendering the air from inside the home. If your fan is a high cfm and you have a few vents, it might create a negative pressure environment. You most likely will pull air from inside your home into the attic. But is that still worse than fighting a 40-degree delta?
Appreciate the insights!! Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts.
Very well said. I've watched a lot of videos on UA-cam and Amazon and the homeowner always says, "I installed the attic fan (usually gable mounted) and it didn't do anything to reduce my attic temps. This fan sucks and was a total waste of time & money".
IMPORTANT: in order to remove a large volume of air, you must be able to replace that large volume of air.
The most important thing is the air intake square footage.
You need 1 sq ft of intake for each 750cfm of fan. So, if your fan is 2200cfm, you need 2200/750 = 3 sq ft of intake.
Installing a gable mounted fan at one of your gable vents just doesn't make sense. Is the other gable vent as large as 3 sq ft???? Doubtful.
Is the other gable vent PLUS the tiny holes in your soffit vents equal to 3 sq ft???? Still doubtful.
This is where you start getting into a negative pressure situation and the fan starts pulling air out of the livable space (if you haven't air sealed).
IMNSHO, a roof mounted attic fan is the better option. You will have both gable vents plus the soffit vents to provide air intake.
My roof mounted fan is 1300 cfm on high (and 800 cfm on low). So, 1300/750 = approx 2 sq ft of intake.
My 2 gable vents are 1 sq ft each plus the soffit vents give me a little extra.
my attic fan works great & my house isn't seal
Awesome news! Keep cool or warm wherever you happen to be!