Attic Ventilation Fans have many benefits to your home, in all seasons! The attic in your home is a living, breathing barrier from the harsh elements of the outside weather. In the warm months of the year, the attic can reach temperatures as high as 170 degrees or more when the hot summer sunlight is beaming directly onto your roof. That boxed up heat can make your cooling costs rise significantly inside the home, as the warm barrier or attic air acts as an insulator, which requires your home air conditioner to work harder. Even in attics with good insulation, poor ventilation can account for up to 30% of your total cooling costs during the hot months! This is a huge waste of money that can be corrected easily. In the winter months, a poorly vented attic space can result in moisture buildup, which can ultimately lead to wood deterioration, or even worse, mold.

Types of Attic Fans

Attic Ventilators come in a variety of styles and types. From Gable Mounted Fans, to Roof Mounted Ventilators, there is bound to be an attic fan for your needs. In addition to the mounting location, there are options for the power source of your attic vent. You have the choice of electric, which are the most reliable, solar powered, which is somewhat of an emerging technology in attic ventilation, and non-powered vents, which are simple Turbine Ventilators, which use the power of wind to spin the turbine and vent the attic.

Regardless of type of fan you choose, almost every fan comes with a thermostatically control switch, either inline or on the fan itself, that automatically turns the fan on and off at specific temps. Some of the better models have a built in humidistat, that senses high humidity (alot of moisture in the attic) and turns on as well.

Gable Attic Fans

Gable fans install on one end or the other of your roof peaks. In almost all cases, the gable fans are designed to be less than 16 inches in width, to fit perfectly in between onto your attic wall studs. In addition to the fan itself, you will need to have a louvered shutter that allows the expelled air to pass through. If you do not have an existing shutter on your gable, you can get these with your fan, for less than $20, andf thy will automatically open and close when the fan powers on.

Roof Attic Ventilators

Roof ventilators mount onto one of the flat portions of your roof, and like the gable mounted units, are designed to fit perfectly within your roof structure. Roof ventilators need no additional parts like shutters, as everything is contained in a bell-type cover, weatherproof and ready to go. In addition, most roof mounted ventilators have a screen under the top dome, that is designed to keep out debris, birds and any other critters that may come near.

Solar Attic Fans

Choosing the Right Size Attic Ventilator

When it comes to determining the right size ventilator for your attic, the process is fairly simple. You take the square footage of attic floor area, multiply it by .75 CFM and you have a good rule of thumb for the size you need.

For example: If your attic measures 25 feet X 60 feet, you have 1500 square feet of attic floor. 1500 X .75 = 1125 CFM of airflow.

In addition to knowing the size ventilator you need, you also need to consider that you must have an equal amount of fresh air to enter the attic. Many times, people install a Gable Mounted Ventilator on both ends of their home, only to realize the fans actually work against each other, creating a vacuum inside the home! Just about every home built has soffit vents that help overcome this vacuum.

Installing Your Own Attic Ventilation Fan

Thanksfully, installing an attic fan is an easy project for the DIY Homeowner! Even if you have to cut a hole to accomodate the new ventilator, most attic fan kits come with templates for the hole size, and can be installed in less than 4 hours, with basic hand tools.

If you have no source of electricity for a powered model, you can install a solar powered attic fan, without having to run any electric wires to your unit!

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