Does A Solar Attic Fan Save Money

Because of the negative pressure inside the house that these fans create i don t feel that they save you money on electricity or cooling costs.

Does a solar attic fan save money.

Meanwhile solar attic fans are free to run lower your electric bills and have few costs beyond purchase and installation. You re almost always better off using passive ventilation like a ridge vent a soffit vent that sort of thing to reduce attic temperatures and not use an attic fan. The only time i would ever use an attic fan is if i had a roof that was unusually difficult to vent passively. Find out whether it is economical to run an attic fan.

For example if you had a hip roof. Hip roofs are tough. Using a whole house fan can result in a savings of over 300 each month of running a 3500w a c unit during the hottest part of summer. But you ll likely need two fans to make an impact says danny.

Instead of installing a fan just make sure your attic is well ventilated. Even though electric attic fans can lower your air conditioning costs they cost more money to run than what they save you. Attic fans are not recommended if you have central air conditioning because when you turn the fan on in the summer it depressurizes the attic but also reaches down into your house and starts drawing off air conditioned air effectively driving up your cooling costs. Energy star rated solar attic fans still qualify for a federal tax credit of 30 percent of your purchase and installation costs.

This product requires direct sunlight to operate. That means it could take between 10 15 years to get back to even with this investment. Let s assume that you have a supertight house and no. Attic fans cool the attic which helps cool the rooms just under it.

As hgtv points out cooling a 1 000 square foot home with solar attic fans can save you about 40 per year in a warm climate like florida. Bridgett w tampa fla. Larger homes that need larger a c units can save even more. It s usually better to take the money you would spend on an attic fan and instead spend it on increasing the insulation levels in the attic and the airtightness of the attic floor plane.