Why You Need A Solar Attic Fan

Solar Attic Fan

We all know that using more fans and less AC is great for the environment, but going solar is one more step in the right direction. By installing a solar attic vent fan you not only help cut down on your electricity use, but you can also dramatically lower the temperature in your entire home, creating a cool, green environment for you and your family during the hot summer months.

The shingled roof above your home absorbs sunlight during the day and can transfer heat into the attic, potentially reaching a scalding 150° F. This intense heat is trapped in your attic and slowly passes through the insulation into the rest of your home, causing your AC to work overtime to keep the overall temperature cool. An attic can stay hot long after the sun goes down, meaning the heat transfer into your home never really ends. An attic vent van allows the stored heat to leave the home through the roof instead of through your air conditioner. Solar attic fans are an environmentally friendly way to save money on your energy bills and create a cool and comfortable atmosphere inside your home.

Solar fans for your attic can be a little pricey, typically around $400, but the payback can be worth it. Energy audits determine that an attic fan can save you roughly $25 per month in air conditioning costs over a four-month summer period. Because solar fans only require an upfront payment, you will be saving $100 per year which equates to a payback period of only four years.

Solar Attic Fan

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Disadvantages of Solar Attic Fan (Solar Attic Fan)

Solar Attic Fan

Cost
The largest problem of using primarily solar energy is the cost involved. Despite advances in technology, solar panels remain almost prohibitively expensive. Even when the cost of the panels is ignored, the system required to store the energy for use can also be quite costly.

Weather Dependent
Although some solar energy can be collected during even the cloudiest of days, efficient solar energy collection is dependent on sunshine. Even a few cloudy days can have a large affect on an energy system, particularly once that fact that solar energy cannot be collected at night is taken into account.

Geographic Limitations
While some areas would benefit from adapting solar power, other parts of the world would receive little benefit from current solar systems. Solar panels still require direct sunlight to collect large amounts of power, and in many areas of the world there are few days that would efficiently power a system.

The price of solar attic fan is higher than that of an electric one (around $200 more), but the dispensation of wiring and the zero operation costs can largely compensate the higher initial price.

Other limitations may be associated with local solar conditions, namely in winter and cold climates, if homeowners want the solar attic fan to fulfill uses besides cooling: in cold climates, with few solar resources, the ventilation provided by a solar attic fan in winter – to fight moisture, for instance - may be insufficient, making electric powered attic fans a more advantageous solution.

Solar Attic Fan

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Solar Attic Fan: How It Works?

Solar Attic Fan

Solar Attic Fan is powered by the sun and the sun only. It is also increases fresh air circulation which reduces vapor builds up generated by everyday activities like showering and cooking. A solar attic fan works pretty much like you'd expect it to. The fan itself is installed near the ridge of your home's roof, and is then connected to a set of low powered photovoltaic solar cells that provide the fan with enough electricity to get the fan spinning when the sun is shining.
A solar attic fan uses photovoltaic panels to convert sunlight into electrical power. The electricity generated is used to turn a fan motor, exhausting air from the attic of a home.

How it works?

A solar attic fan, converts the solar energy to electrical energy, stores it and drives a motor which in turn drives the vanes of the fan to generate air, exhaust or intake. During the day, when there is solar power, (sunny day), the solar energy (rays) from the sun is stored for night consumption. (Energy saving). That is the real purpose of a solar attic fan.

The attic becomes warmest when the sun is the strongest. A solar attic fan runs the hardest when the sun is strongest. Everyday home activities such as cooking and showering create moisture which collects in the attic and promotes mold and mildew growth, reduces the effectiveness of insulation, and attacks the wooden attic structure. Year round fresh air circulation from a solar attic fan removes this moisture and prevents moisture related problems.

Solar Attic Fan

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Difference Between Solar Attic Fan and Electric Attic Fan (Solar Attic Fan)

Solar Attic Fan

An electric fan has a thermostat that triggers the fan to start only when the temperature of attic goes beyond 125 degrees Fahrenheit. Then after that, it has to run for some time for the temperature to drop below 110 degrees, so during especially hot summer days, an electric fan can burn quite a bit of energy.

Solar attic fans use energy derived directly from sunlight to operate instead, so they work all day long to keep the air circulating and the attic cool. Keeping your attic properly cooled and ventilated in turn decreases the burden on your air conditioning when the temperature rises, saving even more money and energy.

Solar attic fans also increase the durability of your roof by reducing moisture build-up in your home from everyday activity, and like other solar-powered devices, solar-powered attic fans work quietly. Furthermore, you don't need an electrician or any city permits to install them.

These fans are available for every type of roof under the sun, including gable, pitch, and flat variety. You can also use them to improve ventilation in your garage, RV, or barn.

Article source: www.solargadgetsinfo.com

Solar Attic Fan

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What Solar Attic Fan Manufacturers Don't Want You to Know (Solar Attic Fan)

Solar Attic Fan

United States of America (Press Release) July 25, 2008 -- Newburgh, NY July 24, 2008 - Solar attic fans are a great "green" solution for ventilating hot attics on sunny days. But manufacturers typically provide ratings that vastly overestimate the amount of attic space they can effectively ventilate. That can result in installing much fewer fans than you really need to properly vent your attic according to building code regulations.

Building codes divide ventilators into two categories: (1) A/C powered electric fans, and (2) everything else. Wind powered, solar powered, and passive vents are all lumped together in the second category. Why the apparent over-simplification?

The answer is: consistent performance. A certain amount of minimum air flow must be present at all times to ensure proper ventilation. This is codified in the "1 to 300" rule, which means that for every 300 square feet of attic floor space, there must be 1 foot of passive ventilator "free air" space (measured by the inner diameter of the vent itself). This rule establishes a specific relation of size of attic to size and quantity of vents.

source: FPR

Ventilation is rated by how much CFM (cubic feet of air per minute) they move. The problem is, the performance of solar fans is dependent on many variables: season, location latitude, weather conditions, dirt on the panel, angle to the sun, among others. The manufacturers rate these fans when all these factors are at optimum levels, which may actually be only for a few hours a day, and not on all days. But ventilation must be constant, all the time.

So what happens? Even construction professionals often make the mistake of trusting those "optimized" ratings to determine how many vents to install for a given area. Therefore, they assume that the vents are moving much more air than they actually are throughout the day, and end up specifying fewer vents than are required for even minimum ventilation. This violates the "1 to 300" rule, and results in overheated attics in the summer, ice damming in the winter, and moisture-laden attics in the other two seasons.

This analysis shows that we should be highly skeptical of ratings provided by the solar fan manufacturers, and use them for comparison only. When it comes to determining how many vents your attic requires, always rely on the "1 to 300" rule to ensure that your attic is being vented properly, every day, all day long.

Source: www.free-press-release.com

Solar Attic Fan

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Types of Solar Attic Fan (Solar Attic Fan)

Solar Attic Fan

You can buy either a gable mounted solar attic vent, which you install at the end of your roof overhang or a model that sits directly on the roof and requires a hole of approximately a foot and a half in diameter. Rooftop solar attic ventilators are best installed by a professional but an experienced do it yourselfer can do the job in about three hours.

If you have a typical shingle roof it involves peeling back a couple rows of shingles, cutting a hole using a paper template that comes with the vent, screwing the vent base down to the wood deck and replacing and tarring the shingles and then placing the solar roof vent onto the base and aiming the solar panel to the recommended angle.

Solar attic fans or solar roof vents usually come with enough electric cord to mount them up to six feet from the vent if you need to place the panel in an area that gets more sun.

Getting hot air out of the attic is a very good way to lower your electric bills in summer. A hot attic could be costing you as much as fifty percent of your cooling costs. When your attic cooler less heat is radiated down through the ceiling and your air conditioner has to work less. Even if you have a well insulated attic if it is poorly ventilated and therefore extremely hot, some of this heat will make it down through the insulation into your home.

Solar Attic Fan

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