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Helping You Make Your Home Your Castle |
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Installing Solar Powered Attic
Fans
Attic solar fans can save you money and prevent
damage to your attic.
Introduction: Proper venting of
the attic is important in two ways. First,
inadequate venting will cause heat and moisture to
build up in the attic because of the lack of
sufficient air flow that will cause roof rot of the
sheathing and roof rafters and ice during winter
months. Second, excessive heat in the attic during
the summer will increase your energy usage for air
conditioning. Both of these problems are caused by
inadequate ventilation and/or insulation.
To remedy the problem you can increase the amount
of venting or the insulation. Another alternative
is to install attic vent fans. If you install a fan
you are confronted with the additional task of
running an electrical circuit to power the fan.
Running an electrical circuit to the attic can be a
difficult task on a house that is not under
construction. Snaking wire up through the wall to
attic is possible but installing solar powered
attic fans is a much easier solution.
A solar attic fan is comprised of two components,
the fan that includes a fan motor and a small solar
collector to gather energy from the sun to operate
it. The fan motor is a direct current motor that
gets its power from the solar collector.
Installing solar power attic fans is a moderately
easy task for the DIY homeowner. Solar attic fans have a built in thermo sensor that can be set to go on and off when the attic reaches the temperature you set for the attic. It will regulate the attic temperature year around by providing additional ventilation. Depending on the sun angle the attic temperature can reach as high as 200 degrees on a summer day which will cause the house to be uncomfortably warm and increase your energy cost for air conditioning. Solar fans can be mounted on the roof or in place of the gable vents. Either way they are very effective in providing additional ventilation for your attic. The solar panel can be positioned at the most optimum sun angle to insure sufficient power for year around operation.
Installing solar powered attic fans is a practical
solution
for improving attic ventilation. Not only do they
protect your home from detraction from excessive
moisture and temperature they are environmentally
friendly as they do not use conventional electrical
power to operate. They are easy to install and can
save on your electric utility bills. Most home improvement supply centers sell solar power fans and can refer you to a contractor for installation if you cannot DIY. Related articles:
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