How Your Hous Attic Fan Works

Whole house fans work on the principle of removing the hot and humid air out of the house.

How your hous attic fan works.

The warm air escapes through the attic and to the attic vents allowing the circulation of chilly air from the windows. The whole house fan pulls air in from open windows and exhausts it through the attic and roof. An attic fan is installed on the slanted side of your roof or on one of the gable sides of your attic. Attic ventilation fans whether hard wired or powered by their own solar panels seem like a low cost and effective way to help keep your house cool.

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. These fans are designed to remove excess heat from your attic which in theory is supposed to lessen the load on the air conditioning in your home. It provides good attic ventilation in addition to whole house cooling. The downside of attic ventilation fans.

Attic fans exhaust hot air from your attic to the outside. For homes or buildings with a whole house fan the hot air is pulled into the attic. Whole house fans should provide houses with 3 to 6 air changes per hour varies with climate floor plan etc check with a professional to determine what is appropriate for your. However the utility of attic ventilation fans is actually quite a controversial topic.

Good insulation reduces fan effectiveness. Because whole house fans were cheaper than air conditioners and worked well they began being used in the 1950s primarily in the south. However if your attic has blocked soffit vents and is not well sealed from the rest of the house attic fans will suck cool conditioned air up out of the house and into the. Many people confuse a whole house fan with an attic fan but the two accomplish different goals.