How to install attic fan solar

Make sure your attic has the proper ventilation to take in cool air after the hot air has been transferred outward. Your solar attic fan will contain metal and be placed atop your roof. That means you will need to protect it against any potential lightning strikes.

Protect the area by grounding the fan with a grounding wire, ensuring a correct connection. This is a crucial step in the installation process. Make sure there is an airtight barrier between the attic and home to prevent this from occurring. Finding the perfect spot on the roof to install the fan is very important. Solar panels pointing south will generally receive the most sunlight possible.

If this seems like too difficult a task to perform yourself, then contact the professionals at Elite Solar Systems in Chandler, Arizona. For best results, select a solar panel with double the output required by the fan used.

The single solar-powered attic fan I have has not lowered the temperature in my attic at all. I took precise before and after temperature readings. If you install the solar attic fan lower on the roof, you wont be catching most of the rising hot air. The City of Portland recommends that solar attic fans are installed on the southern portion of your roof, and away from any overhanging trees.

If you add the right size attic fan and the right number of attic fans to your home they can make a tremendous difference in lowering the temperature in your attic and in your home. Want to keep your house comfortable year-round while protecting the attic and roof from a battery of hazards? An attic fan may be just what youre looking for. Its midsummer, and for hours and days, the sun has been beating on the roof of your home.

Measurements have shown that, given the right weather conditions, typical roofing materials can reach up to degrees Fahrenheit. That heat eventually transfers from the outside of the roof to the sheathing. From there, it penetrates the insulation and roof framing materials, raising the temperature of the attic to a precarious extreme. But summer isnt the only season during which the attic faces a threat. In winter, when windows are shut tight, theres considerably less ventilation for the humidity generated by cooking, laundry, and showers.

With nowhere else to go, that moist air accumulates in the attic, where it can bring about a battery of risks. Indeed, no matter the time of year, there are good reasons to give extra attention to your attic and the stresses that it undergoes. Here in Dallas, the attic at my house was hitting degrees F when the outside temperature was at about degrees F. Some people report their attics reaching temps upwards of degrees during the hottest days of summerlooking at you Phoenix!

An attic fan is going to drive excess heat out of your attic. This is important because the wood and insulation that connects your attic floor to the ceiling of your house is going to act like an oven and will retain heat after the sun goes down and radiate into your home, making AC units work hard. There is actually a little debate on this subject between homeowners and builders. Some believe a fan is greatly needed and a home is incomplete without one, others believe that an attic fan isnt doing that much work and roof vents are just as good.

My thought is that if you live in a very hot or very humid location, then they are a necessity. If you live in a more mild climate then roof vents are probably okay.

A fan will also keep airflow moving and dry out some moisture if you live in a humid location. And its not just natural humidity you need to worry about. Showers, tubs, dishwashers, and cooking will also give your home a humidity bump. Attic fans will lend a huge assist in dropping the moisture in the air, staving off mold and mildew. These temperatures are unbearable to human skin. The temperature thats felt on the skin in tropical regions is much higher than the nominal room temperature.

Not only the temperature alone but there is also another factor that makes the surrounding heated and uncomfortable to be in. That is the humidity. When the humidity is high, we tend to feel the temperature more on our skin.

We tend to sweat a lot. Humidity makes us feel the temperature is higher than it is. This phenomenon is not only present in the tropical regions of the world. In the summertime, most countries face the difficulty of having higher temperatures and high humidity levels.

Attic fans reduce the chance of sweating due to high temperatures indoors. It does not have any magical powers, but it does it by forcing the airflow from the inside of the attic to the outside of the house. When the skies are cloudy , and it appears like it is about to rain, the temperature falls, and the demand for cooling falls. On such days, you may have little or no need for a solar attic fan. So, the absence of the sun would be of less concern.

Attic fans are intended to cool hot attics by drawing in cooler outside air from attic vents soffit and gable and pushing hot air to the outside. To wrap all this up, for those who are more visual learners, check out this great video by Power Home summarizing how to install solar attic fan:.

It takes anywhere from a few hours to half of the day to install a solar attic fan, depending on your skill level and your site. This includes how quickly you can work, and how easily accessible your roof and attic are. Additionally, if you have additional wiring upgrades, you will spend more time connecting the wires as well. The cost to install a solar attic fan can range from free if you do it yourself to a hundred dollars or so if you hire someone. If you install this mini HVAC system entirely on your own and have a drill and saw on hand, the extra materials like Z-brackets and wood for the brace are relatively cheap and should be your only expenses, aside from the fan itself.

The solar panel should be located in a spot that gets the most direct sunlight for the longest amount of time, daily. The solar panel should not be covered by any trees or shade and should face the south for maximum sunlight.

We recommend two feet from the pitch of your roof, as stated above. No matter what, the installation process for your solar-powered attic fan will take some time, especially depending on your site, but some fans are easier to install than others.

When you think of the main pros and cons with solar attic fans , easy installation is one of the best traits to look for. If an easy DIY installation is a priority for you, here is our list of the top solar-powered attic fans. Hi, Im Dara.