[onbjames]

Well, they convinced me to go with the door vents and power vent in garage ceiling. Installed today. They claim this unit will actually keep the attic cooler as well as the garage. I can stand in front of the door vents and feel a good bit of draft. I will post my opinion of the results.

[jimbo2012]

Is the fan going into the attic or thru the roof

[John_W]

My neighbor had the garage ceiling attic fan installed along with garage door vents, he paid $300 and gave me the guys card and said he has done many. Instead I just had the horizontal screen door sliders installed for $850 on my 12' garage door, I figured that would be even better yet. Also, my wife is out there a lot since the W/D is in the garage.

If you're going to be working in the garage why have the door down, this way it's the same temperature as outside and I don't have to worry about bugs, snakes or gators. I had one neighbor already find a rattlesnake in his garage. I also leave the attic stairs pulled down about a foot and I can feel a good breeze going through. Since this has happened we have raised our inside thermostat a degree.

[cherylncliff]

We had a home energy audit by SECO. The inspector said that attic fans can help lower the attic temperature but from a $ savings perspective, they are not worth the investment. That is, it does not save you much on your electric bill nor does it prolong the life of the roof. His recommendation was to prop the access door to the attic open and leave the garage door open a few inches and let the natural thermal circulation do its job.

I can't give you any facts but we chose not to get the fans.

[jimbo2012]

Originally Posted by cherylncliff

We had a home energy audit by SECO. The inspector said that attic fans can help lower the attic temperature but from a $ savings perspective, they are not worth the investment. That is, it does not save you much on your electric bill nor does it prolong the life of the roof.

A 1500 cfm fan cost about $150 a year to run. Based on $0.125 per kWh, forgot what our rate is, so that may be +-

I think the offset in AC costs should offset that, but beyond that the garage is now a improved living/work space.

If the fan was solar the payback is 3-4 years then free.

His recommendation was to prop the access door to the attic open and leave the garage door open a few inches and let the natural thermal circulation do its job.

How does that work for keeping pests out, it don't.

.

[gomoho]

Had the roof replaced this week on our 4 year old home (owens corning issue) and the roofers said we had more than enough ventilation with our ridge vents. So since we have nothing in the attic and I was ecstatic with our last electric bill I'm not sure what all that extra stuff would accomplish. I think you need to be careful here that you don't get sucked into the latest and greatest. If you think something might be a good idea give yourself some time to think about it, the cost, and the return on your investment. I am new here (6+ weeks now) but when I walk my neighborhood I am amazed how you will find a group of homes with some "extra stuff" added on. Think it is a situation of "oh my, that looks like a good idea" not so much do I really need that???

[tambo100]

Originally Posted by lovesports

Just like you, we were talked into the fan as we were getting solar tubes in first house. We didn't see any difference. We thought they never did it or the fan wasn't working.

On our second house, Steve Lighthouse(home inspector) said forget the attic fan as they don't help. However loved the solar tubes. They made a big difference.

It is a shame you do not believe the solar fans worked on your home. I know for a fact that the Solar Star solar attic fans by Solatube work on my home, as well as on my garage. As for the home inspector, I have talked to numerous inspectors that support the use of attic fans. Solar powered simply make more sense financially than electric ones, not to mention that the Solar Star fans are absolutely whisper quiet. That is a win-win for me and my family.

Just saying from my personal experiences.

[faithfulfrank]

Originally Posted by onbjames

I'll start off by saying this is our first summer in The Villages, and to thank every one for the info here, and that we are loving it!
My problem is the hot garage, I like spending time out there, my man cave and all.
I have talked to two contractors and got two choices.
One, vent the bottem of the garage doors, and install a power vent in the garage ceiling, pulling the warm air from the garage into the attic. Cost about $525. This work would be covered under the permit we have in effect from the solar light they just installed. By the way the solar light is great!
The other option is a solar powered vent with a duct pulling the warm air from the garage to the atmosphere. Cost about $900 plus another $65 for another permit.
Any opinions??
Frank, I would really like your input.

Please forgive me for my late response.
The main reason for me not endorsing a powered attic vent fan is the possibility of "short cycling".
The topic of ventilation is as you can read here is complex. Things are not always cut and dry. Sometimes when you do something in your home for one reason, albeit good, it can compromise other systems.

For instance, installing a vent on the bottom of your garage door and opening the attic hatch a bit WILL allow cooler air to be drawn up into the attic, thus having a cooling affect.....but does this have any negative consequences? I would have to say yes, in that it could very well compromise wind mitigation ratings, as this could cause negative pressure during a hurricane, thus compromising the hurricane rating of the garage door. Opening the garage door is an option, but then as stated pests can get in. I"ve noticed some folks in my neighborhood have screened in garages where they keep the screen door closed and keep the garage door up a bit. They may also keep their garage walk in door open allowing airflow in the home...I do not know.

Sometimes things are gray, and not black and white. My own home has vents installed on the plywood part of the attic stairs. If I had a fire in my garage, this would clearly be the first area where the fire could reach the attic. It would clearly negate the fire rating of the drywall ceiling.....but then again, so does the thin 1/4" plywood door of the attic stair. Yes, they do make fire rated attic stairs, but you hardly see them, as they are much more costly.

Opening a garage window a bit and "cracking" the attic hatch would cause more cool air to get to the attic....would it make that much difference? I do not know. I do know that when I open my attic steps and climb up when the garage door is open I DO feel cool air rushing up into the attic, but really, I have to assume that this is constantly happening by the soffits, but I cannot easily stand by them to see.

Folks can and will debate this topic forever....but suffice to say that your roof is designed to continuously have cool air drawn into the attic thru the soffits, and have hot air continually expelled through the ridge vent. It would not keep me up at night.

Now if you really want to confuse the issue, you can throw into the conversation the concept of complete insulated encapsulated foamed attic systems where NO venting is the norm and all of the insulation is foamed onto the bottom of the roof decking.....

(Sorry, I could not resist....)

Respectfully, Frank

[Paperboy]

I AGREE with tambo 100. We have a 1500 sq. ft. cottage home with a solar attic fan & a dehumidistat (set@60 for humidity & 85 for air). Electric bill was $24.02 last mo. & $21.13 the mo. prior!!!!!! We are snow birds.