How Do Solar Attic Fans Work

A solar attic fan harnesses the power of the sun to run its motor without using electricity.

How do solar attic fans work.

How an attic fan works. How a solar powered attic fan works in the winter. How solar attic fans work. Solar attic fan provides air circulation the photovoltaic panel of the solar attic fan collects sunlight that powers.

But they re much easier to install since no wiring is needed. This is basically how air naturally moves. If you have an upstairs bonus room or bedroom that gets uncomfortably hot in summer consider adding a solar powered fan to your attic. This reduces the amount of work your hvac system has to do to cool your upstairs living area.

In addition to soffit gable and or ridge vents you may want to add a power vent fan to your attic to increase air circulation. The attic fan just helps the air move more which adds cooler air circulation. Once the solar powered attic fan is up on the roof the sun works its magic to power the fan. Solar or pv fans run on sun power and pull superheated air out of your attic to be replaced by cooler outside air.

Solar attic fans can be installed in just 15 minutes. Air circulation moves hot air out of attic space. Fresh air is pulled in from your soffits and or roof vent creating a draft through your attic. Heat builds inside an improperly vented attic the sun beats down on a homes roof and heats up the enclosed attic.

As the sun beats down on your roof it heats the air inside your house starting with your attic. Solar powered attic vent fans usually don t move as many cubic feet of air per minute cfm as hardwired fans. The problem with this design as argued by energy professionals is that attic fans also pull the conditioned air from your home into the attic. That warmed air then circulates through your home forcing your air conditioner to work harder to maintain a constant temperature.

Solar attic fans work by pulling in the cold air from the soffits and pushing out the hot air that has accumulated at the top of the attic. By pulling from this external air source the attic fan will extract the hot humid air up through the fan and create a constant exchange of air in your attic. This air is then exhausted through the fan to the outside. To determine the number of cubic feet per minute needed for a power vent fan multiply the number of square feet in your attic by 0 7.

Cold air is at the bottom and warm air is at the top. With no electrical source required homeowners can be proud to have a renewable energy source in operation.