Attic VentilationFans

Our website has many sources of attic ventilation fans, attic vent ideas and information.

There are three types of these home attic heat dissipation fans:

	electric powered fans
	solar fans
	passive turbines

Some safety considerations when installing a powered attic vent fan:

Powered attic ventilators (PAVs) can exhaust the hot air out of attic spaces, but these rooftop and sidewall mounted fans can additionally suck air conditioned air from your house into your attic space. In certain circumstances, they can at the same time, create serious life safety problems by pulling combustion gases from a garage or appliances in the house or basement into the living area of the house.

In order to prevent this kind of problem, it's important to make sure there are plenty of passive vent openings around the soffit edges and ridge of the roof. Another consideration is the insulation of the living area which prevents hot humid air from bring sucked through the house into the attic. This air flow moves into the attic through the attic access opening cover and through hidden holes in the wall top plates where plumbing vent pipes and electrical wires enter the attic. Your walls can also leak around wall switch plates and electrical outlets. Also make sure your chimney damper is closed if you have a fireplace. Such a situation would be counter productive to your desired energy cost savings.

Anyone who considers installing powered attic ventilationfans should also consider installing additional attic insulation to keep the living area cooler in summer and easier to heat in winter.

Our Recommendation:

After much research on the subject of Attic Ventilation Fans, our recommendation is to first access your attic vents. If you have a roof ridge vent with soffit vents, you have the ideal set up. If you only have gable vents, you might want to also install some soffit vents if you plan to install a powered attic ventilation fan. Also consider increasing your attic insulation. New insulation should leave two inches clearance with the roof and not cover the soffit vents. Additionally check your house for air leaks around outlets, etc. to the attic. A thermostatically controlled powered attic fan in the gable vent opposite the prevailing wind is logical choice.

If you want a solar fan, you will want to decide if you want one with a battery storage for backup use at night or other times when there's no sun.

The passive turbine works like the ridge vent to move hot air by turning on the slightest breeze. It is quiet, efficient and free, but does require cutting a hole in the roof to install it. Some considerations include to make sure you get a turbine that is suitable for your roof pitch. The part that turns needs to be level. Also make sure you turbine is aluminum and has permanently lubed bearings. The passive turbine along with soffit and gable vents is probably a very wise choice for removing both attic heat in summer and moist air in winter.