Do Attic Exhaust Fans Work

Attic ventilation fans help cool air your attic by pushing out the stifling hot air from inside the attic and bringing in cool air from outside.

Do attic exhaust fans work.

Venting a homes attic is a very important best building practices will say 50 at the ridge and 50 at the soffits unobstructed. Attic ventilation works on the principle that heated air naturally rises primarily utilizing two types of vents. Attic fan ventilation 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. Strong attic fans can actually back draft furnaces or water heaters by pulling combustion gases out of their burnersand into the home.

They can help you save a lot of money on your energy bills as you may not have to use air conditioning if the weather isn t too hot. Ideally this will lower the high temperatures that have built up in your attic. An attic fan works by drawing in cool air to the attic space that pushes out the hot air through vents. Attic fans are installed at the roof level of your home to regulate the heat level.

Attic fans exhaust hot air from your attic to the outside. Well what s been found is that if you turn the attic fan on in the summertime that it depressurizes the attic but it doesn t stop there. If there are not enough soffit gable or ridge vents a powerful attic exhaust fan can pull the air from your home through the ceiling if it is not perfectly sealed off. This prevents hot air from seeping into your home and driving up the temperature in the living space which reduces the load on your air conditioner.

As a certified licensed home inspector it is not correct to say too much ventilation is bad for an attic unless rain moisture is getting in. Intake vents located at the lowest part of the roof under the eaves allow cool. As hot air rises to the top fans push the hot air out and cool down the home by drawing in the fresh air. 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 attic.

Sometime during the sunny days hot air is drawn in from the outside that is further heated up in the attic and this might cause the temperature in your living area to rise. This air is then exhausted through the fan to the outside. An attic exhaust fan can sometimes work magic in providing a cool environment in the attic that lets your living spaces become comfortable. Do not use mechanical means electric attic fans.