The only difference is that when the soffit vents are not properly sealed from the rest of the house the fans tend to suck up the cool conditioned air into the attic a process that makes it to consume more energy thus increase the utility bills.
Do attic fans save money.
If you put in an attic fan you may very well increase your central air conditioning cost.
Find out whether it is economical to run an attic fan.
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Attic fans don t save money because they need to do the job with which they were fitted to do whether the soffit vents are properly sealed or not.
If the attic fan increases the comfort level of the house it may be worth it.
My husband really thinks it s a great idea to buy a solar attic fan but i don t want to waste the money if it does little or nothing.
When exploring the best attic ventilation practices consider installing an attic ventilation fan to keep the hot air from settling in.
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.
Well here s a surprise for you.
Of course if the attic fan isn t working correctly and is running all year long that would be a significant problem.
If you can improve ventilation in your attic and reduce the amount of heat the space holds and pushes into your home you ll reduce the cooling load on your air conditioner and save money on your utility bills.
Instead of installing a fan just make sure your attic is well ventilated.
Larger homes that need larger a c units can save even more.
If the attic fan keeps the house cool enough so that the owners leave the ac off there is almost certainly an energy benefit.
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.
These ventilation fans are usually mounted in the upper slope of the roof and are designed to cool the attic save energy on cooling costs and extend the life of the roof shingles.