[Kenswing]

We have a solar attic fan installed right above our Majic Stairs. We didn’t buy it for any type of savings. We got it to moderate the temperature in the storage area of our attic. Easy to see if it’s running. We have four passive vents at the other end of the house. During the day I open the garage door. Lower the garage screen and lower the stairs a bit. It creates good flow. I only do this during the day while we’re home.

[jrref]

Everyone is an expert lol

So here are the facts:
1) Don't buy any attic fan to save money. The rate of return will be very large.
2) Attic fans should pull fresh outside air through the soffit vents and possible through the ridge vents although this should be small and out through the fan. If your soffit vents are blocked then you need to get them unblocked or the attic will not ventilate properly no matter what venting you have. When the Solar Guys install the fan they will tell you if there is a problem.
3) The Solar Guys install the solar fan towards the afternoon sun so the fan is working full speed when you really need it.
4) The Solar Guys sell two fans. One lower speed covering a small attic and a higher speed to cover a large attic. Depending on your attic if it were really large i would install the high speed fan near the front side of the house to exhaust the space over the garage and the smaller one towards the back. Most homes will only need the one higher speed fan. I would not install two of the higher speed fans unless you have a large Premier home. The Solar Guys web site has the specification for each fan so you can verify what they recommend selling you.
5) Do install a solar attic fan if you want to lower the temperature in your attic so what you store over the garage doesn't melt and any lower attic temperature will mean less load on the A/C even if it's small. Your roof will also last somewhat longer.

I have two solar attic ventillators installed by the Solar Guys, one large and one small in my 2600 ft Ivy and after installation my attic never gets more than 10 degrees hotter than the outside air. No more 150 degree superheated attic. Also look at the physics. With no attic fan the hot air moves in through the soffit vents and out the ridge or other non-active vents slowly due to the hot air rising. Although the hot air moves out of the attic it can superheat during the hottest part of the day. Any attic ventilator will force the air throught the soffit vents and out the attic fan preventing this superheating effect. This all assumes that your soffit vents are mostly clear. If they are not then your attic will not vent properly no matter what system passive or active you have.

The homes here in the Villages have the minimum attic venting to meet code. This is not enough. In general people believe an attic ventilator will cool down an attic to a comfortable 72 degrees and all the studies show that this is not the case. Any attic ventilator can only draw in fresh air from the outside. So if the outside air is 95 degrees then with perfect attic ventilation the attic wil be 95 degrees. What the studies do point out is an attic ventilator will if properly installed and with adequate soffit venting, reduce the peak temperature of the attic and prevent it from superheating from the sun beating on the roof, etc.. But because you have insulation in the attic the net effect of lowering the temperature in your home will be small. So with an attic ventilator you will get some A/C savings, extend the life of your roof and enable you to store items over your garage without having them melt.

Also if you get a solar attic ventilator from the Solar Guys for example, for 2022 you will get a Federal Tax credit, not a deduction, of 26% of the whole cost, fan and labor thus reducing the cost of the fan.

[EdFNJ]

Originally Posted by jrref

Everyone is an expert lol

Hmmm, yep, seems so. : People who post their thoughts & opinions on a forum generally don't claim to be an expert or even play one on TV.

Originally Posted by jrref

Also if you get a solar attic ventilator from the Solar Guys for example, for 2022 you will get a Federal Tax credit, not a deduction, of 26% of the whole cost, fan and labor thus reducing the cost of the fan.

Assuming you are lucky enough to have taxes to credit otherwise you don't .

[rrtjp]

Originally Posted by dewilson58

There are a few "independent" assessments.

Here is one.

Are Solar Attic Fans Worth It? - Waypoint Inspection Property Inspection

"maybe a five year payback"

Thanks for that info👍🏼

[jrref]

Originally Posted by dewilson58

There are a few "independent" assessments.

Here is one.

Are Solar Attic Fans Worth It? - Waypoint Inspection Property Inspection

"maybe a five year payback"

Good article but let's take this independent information and apply it to the Villages.

1) Attic Fans Can Pull Air From Inside the Home: True but most of the homes in the Villages have blown in attic insulation which does a very good job of preventing airflow from tiny cracks and holes that allow your cool air to be released into the attic. All the recent homes in the Villages get tested for air flow and you can see the test results on the A/C Air Handler. Also note that the reverse is true. If your home has all these tiny crack and holes even without an attic fan hot air will infultrate your home from the outside as well. At a slower rate but there will still be air flow.
2) Solar Attic Fans Are Just Another Leak Waiting to Happen: True, any roof penetration has a potential to leak. I know the Solar Guys do a very good job using silicon and other flashing methods to reduce this risk basically to near zero. Also here in the Villages we have to change our roofs on an average of 15 years so if the fan is installed properly it should last at least that long. Have you ever looked at your roof and noticed how many round passive vents are on your roof? I guess they can't leak.
3) Older Homes Have Blocked Soffits: This is one of the most important things to be aware of. Fortunately homes built here in the Villages should not have blocked soffits. If they were blocked your attic would super heat and you would know it.
4) So What Are the True Savings of Solar Attic Fans?: As mentioned, you don't buy a Solar Attic fan to save money. Solar is better than electric becasue you don't have to pay to run electric to the fan on install and there is no extra electric cost to run the fan. You buy an attic fan to reduce the temperature in the attic so it doesn't super heat. If you disregard the slightly extended roof life and savings in A/C costs, lowering the temperature in the attic will enable you to store more items over the garage and since your garage ceiling is not typically insulated your garage will be a little cooler as well. Remember you garage is incredibly hot because of the heat gain from the sun beating on the door and from the super heated attic. Since i installed my attic fans my attic never goes more than 10 degrees over the outside air and my garage is also a few degrees cooler, enough that i can tell the difference.

So the point of my response is yes these independent reviews are good but you have to take the data and apply it to your specific home in your specific area where you live and decide if installing a solar attic fan works for you.

Hope this helps.

[jimkerr]

Having an attic fan makes a HUGE difference! I could never go in the attic during the summer. Now it’s not so bad with the fan pulling that hot air out.

If you decide to go with it, go with Solarguys.

[jrref]

Originally Posted by jimkerr

Having an attic fan makes a HUGE difference! I could never go in the attic during the summer. Now it’s not so bad with the fan pulling that hot air out.

If you decide to go with it, go with Solarguys.

Agreed!

[Aqtlow]

Thank you for all your in-site and experience, I have been trying to figure out how I want to help two heated areas, the garage and the attic. Being familiar with the fact that a lower temperature in the attic will definitely help the roof shingles last longer, and I want to lower the garage temperature with convection basically through the vents in the ceiling tossing up do I just need to vent in the roof pull the air through the faucet Vansant hopefully pour some air through the garage also two fans one in the garage one in the attic thermostatically controlled just kept going round and round haven’t really done anything yet. I have no round air vents in my roof, only ridge vents, so i’m liking the idea of putting a couple of those round vents in the roof to allow more air to flow out but if I put a vent in the garage or say keep my attic stairs ajar possibly allowing the air at the top of the garage to be convected up into the attic and then out the vents no electricity no thermostatic time we’re no plus energy just the work of nature and I do understand the path of least resistance also but I do believe that the air coming from ground level up to the top of the attic should give some nice natural convection thank you so much for your help if I am off with this theory please let me know if I’m on the right track please let me know thank you

[Judy Vons]

Everyone is talking about installing a solar fan to save money. We installed one to cool the attic space which has a large storage area with pull-down stairs. And, it DOES the job! We can now store items in the above-garage storage area without the concern that these items will be harmed by the excessive heat.

[Aqtlow]

Thank you for all your in-site and experience, I have been trying to figure out how I want to help two heated areas, the garage and the attic. Being familiar with the fact that a lower temperature in the attic will definitely help the roof shingles last longer, and I want to lower the garage temperature with convection basically through vents in the ceiling, do I just need a vent in the roof to pull the air through the garage ceiling vent, also though of two fans one in the garage one in the attic thermostatically controlled I just kept going round and round haven’t really done anything yet. I have no round air vents in my roof, only ridge vents, so i’m liking the idea of putting a couple of those round vents in the roof to allow more air out and I put a vent in the garage door and ceiling I am liking the idea. no electricity no thermostatic time we’re I use no plus energy just the work of nature. if I am off with this theory please let me know if I’m on the right track please let me know thank you

[jrref]

Originally Posted by Aqtlow

Thank you for all your in-site and experience, I have been trying to figure out how I want to help two heated areas, the garage and the attic. Being familiar with the fact that a lower temperature in the attic will definitely help the roof shingles last longer, and I want to lower the garage temperature with convection basically through vents in the ceiling, do I just need a vent in the roof to pull the air through the garage ceiling vent, also though of two fans one in the garage one in the attic thermostatically controlled I just kept going round and round haven’t really done anything yet. I have no round air vents in my roof, only ridge vents, so i’m liking the idea of putting a couple of those round vents in the roof to allow more air out and I put a vent in the garage door and ceiling I am liking the idea. no electricity no thermostatic time we’re I use no plus energy just the work of nature. if I am off with this theory please let me know if I’m on the right track please let me know thank you

My recommendation would be to install a solar attic fan towards the front side of your home and see if the temperature in the garage comes down. It should because the garage ceiling won't be super heated adding to the heat in the garage

If you put vents in the garage ceiling you will need vents in the garage door to provide intake air. The problem with this is you will be pulling in hot air from the outside and it probably won't feel cooler. If you don't put in any intake air vents in the garage the attic fan won't pull much air from the garage.

As an experiment, get an attic fan installed then prop open you attic access door and see if the garage is any cooler. If so then a vent in the ceiling will help. Either way the garage will be somewhat cooler if you install an attic fan.

[bakon]

So I rode around with wife yesterday checking friends garages and attics. I measured the temps with a Harbor Freight laser gun. I have used same gun on engines and windows, it works pretty fast and finds variations inches apart on materials.

The results are open to interpretation….different size houses, different colors, different facing, one had two small Solar guys attic fans plus a garage fan venting into attic running. One had only one large Solar guy fan. Some had no extra vents. All were in Monarch Grove so about 2 1/2 to 3 years old. All were designer series with 2, 2 1/2, 3 and a 4 car garage.

Readings were around noon before the clouds rolled in. And the houses measured exactly the same, some plus or minus 2-3 degrees. None measured same temp in garage and attic. Meaning the roof was still heating the area above garage ceiling over the outside temp- vents, fans or steps left open if didn’t matter.
ALL WERE THE SAME
We can assume the soffits were in similar condition being built same time.

Garage walls and objects in garage. 88
Wood roof not near running fans 137
Wood support trusses a few feet down from roof 118
Plastic bins on attic floor 105

It didn’t matter what vents, what house, which way It faced or if stuffed full attic or empty space. The differences were less than 3 degrees.

I was hoping to see a 5-10 degree difference. Especially one house which runs two fans and a garage ceiling fan blowing in. Air has to be moving more in those over mine with nothing yet (by the way Solar guys said at minimum I need one large and one small, Have appointment next Monday and said give me two large to move more air) Not sure I am going to continue with appointment.

[ML Smith]

It isn’t a scam but it is also not a must have item. I had Solar Guys install 2 for my house. Wasn’t concerned about ROI. They help keep the house cooler by pulling out some of the hot air. Also had insulation blown in above the lanai and the garage. With that said the garage is some what cooler. Significantly? Probably too strong a word but it does help. When the weather isn’t 90+ degrees, I can definitely notice a difference. (At least a small one anyway.)

[jrref]

Originally Posted by bakon

So I rode around with wife yesterday checking friends garages and attics. I measured the temps with a Harbor Freight laser gun. I have used same gun on engines and windows, it works pretty fast and finds variations inches apart on materials.

The results are open to interpretation….different size houses, different colors, different facing, one had two small Solar guys attic fans plus a garage fan venting into attic running. One had only one large Solar guy fan. Some had no extra vents. All were in Monarch Grove so about 2 1/2 to 3 years old. All were designer series with 2, 2 1/2, 3 and a 4 car garage.

Readings were around noon before the clouds rolled in. And the houses measured exactly the same, some plus or minus 2-3 degrees. None measured same temp in garage and attic. Meaning the roof was still heating the area above garage ceiling over the outside temp- vents, fans or steps left open if didn’t matter.
ALL WERE THE SAME
We can assume the soffits were in similar condition being built same time.

Garage walls and objects in garage. 88
Wood roof not near running fans 137
Wood support trusses a few feet down from roof 118
Plastic bins on attic floor 105

It didn’t matter what vents, what house, which way It faced or if stuffed full attic or empty space. The differences were less than 3 degrees.

I was hoping to see a 5-10 degree difference. Especially one house which runs two fans and a garage ceiling fan blowing in. Air has to be moving more in those over mine with nothing yet (by the way Solar guys said at minimum I need one large and one small, Have appointment next Monday and said give me two large to move more air) Not sure I am going to continue with appointment. Love to come measure the last poster’s attic compared to mine today as I am walking distance away. Have to give a call.

So you need to be taking the Air temperature and not the temperature of the structures. The sign that the fans are working is your 105 degree reading of the bins on the floor of the attic. If they are at 105 degrees that means the air in the attic space where you measured is about 10 degrees higher than the outside air which is what you want. The structure temperature will not vary much because there isn't enough air flow with a significant temperature difference to cool it down.

But you are correct depending on the size of your home and it's position to the sun all day long will effect how hot your attic gets.

[bakon]

I agree. It was not air temp. But disappointed the structure and items were the same temp whether fans or not. The items have heat soaked from the air though and are what really is “felt” in attic. The higher the item or structure, the warmer it was and the fans couldn’t move enough air to clear it out or bring it to outside temp. The roofs just soak too much. I did go talk to John who is installing these. We agree to check later in day and see if any comparisons could be made.