Ridge Vent Or Solar Attic Fan

Adding roof ridge vents can reduce summer air conditioning costs prevent roof mildew and rot and keep your roof in better shape longer.

Ridge vent or solar attic fan.

Attic fans can also make a lot of noise. Installing roof ridge vents and more attic insulation are better options experts say. Purchasing an electric or solar attic fan may not provide the savings that homeowners expect. An attic fan is an active system that actually forces air out.

If you have a six foot hip roof that means you only get four feet of venting. And then the vent fits on top of that. Ridge vents are a passive system simply allowing hot air to rise up through them rather than pushing it out as a fan does. Ridge venting is one of many passive roof vent options that you can choose from.

This can make keeping a 2 to 1 soffit to ridge vent ratio difficult. A roofer installs a ridge vent. Get the maximum benefit from ridge ventilation by adding our solar ridgeblaster roof fans and solar panels for a clean and green solution to boost your attic ventilation. The safety and effectiveness of an attic fan is a subject that is hotly debated but line powered products usually cost more to operate than they can produce in savings during the summer.

These situations are perfect for a solar attic fan. Make sure the ridge line is cut open at least an inch to an inch and a half so you have a good wide gap at the top. Cool attic 433 cfm mill galvanized steel solar powered attic fan with adjustable solar panels model cxsolrfmilups 438 43 438 43. Also since the fan is powered by the sun it should turn off when the sky is overcast during a storm which will keep it from drawing rain into the attic.

Choosing a ridge vent or an attic fan. Now for the other sections of roof and attic that are again separated from that garage space there you should use a continuous ridge vent. Solar power is safer to use with an attic fan. Even when its fan isn t running the solar attic fan 14 inch opening allows passive ventilation.

When you are deciding between a ridge vent or an attic fan consider the needs of the attic. Set your store to see local availability add to cart. Out of stock online. Typically ridge vents need two feet of clearance on either end.

Powered completely by solar energy a solar attic fan improves attic air circulation resulting in a healthy energy efficient home. They also create zones of negative pressure that could pull the ac cooled air into the attic. Fan rarely necessary vents that run along the roof ridge are an alternative to those that exit through the roof decking or gables and if the ridge is long enough they may be the only roof vents. Remove hot attic air from the highest point even more effectively with solar ridgeblaster.

Since your solar vent fan only moves 500 cfm a third to half that of a typical hardwired attic vent fan it probably won t move enough air to reverse the action of the ridge vent.