Modern Attic Ventilation Fans for the Home
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Indoor temperature control is an extremely complicated process. There are a lot of factors to consider such as air conditioning, sunlight, humidity, windows and doors placement, among others. But, one particularly important factor is usually forgotten about or left out, attic ventilation. Proper attic ventilation has huge benefits in terms of temperature control. Today’s attic ventilation technology mostly consists of vents and attic ventilation fans.
Attic temperatures can have a tremendous effect on your indoor temperatures. The large surface area in contact with the air in the attic means that they can conduct the heat to other parts of your home or building. By having proper attic ventilation, one can prevent surplus heat from coming into the living areas of the house and help save air conditioning costs by insulating the house from outside temperature changes.
Common scenarios where proper attic ventilation is very important include instances where vents and air conditioning ducts are in your attic. In this case, the higher temperatures in your attic will place additional strain on your air conditioning units. This is very important especially if the air conditioning is turned off during the day as the accumulated heat will be extremely hard to dissipate even at night.
Solar powered attic ventilation fans
One of the best solutions available are attic ventilation fans. There are several types of attic ventilation fans to choose from. One kind that is getting huge publicity is the solar powered fan. Other than the obvious benefits with regard to power savings and environmental protection, these solar powered fans turn themselves on and regulate their air flow strength according to the strength of the primary heat source, which is obviously, the sun. When this is not desirable, thermostat and battery powered operation is also an available option when using solar powered attic ventilation fans. A thermostat or temperature sensitive device will measure the attic temperature and, when it reaches the temperature you have set, it will turn on the solar powered attic ventilation fans. It can use the battery power in low sunlight or low power situations such as during warm but overcast days.
Hybrid ventilation fans
Another type of attic ventilation fans that are gaining some popularity is the hybrid solar and wind power attic ventilation fans. These hybrid solar and wind powered fans harness not only the energy of the sun but of the wind as well. These kinds of fans are based on the concept of reducing high temperatures in a continuous low sunlight environment which in turn solar power alone cannot generate the needed power for the attic ventilation fans. The wind power generators are more than enough to compensate for this and they continue to generate energy for the ventilation fans even at night. The power generated from the wind and solar power generators are enough to create continuous high volume airflow from your attic ventilation fans. If there is an excess in power generation, the leftover power can be stored in batteries designed for this specific application.
Thermostat controlled ventilation fans
The most common type of attic ventilation fans are the ones that are powered by the home itself. These fans are connected to the house or building power lines and are generally operated by the temperature sensitive thermostat system, or a timed delay system. In thermostat systems, the operator will set a temperature threshold that, if crossed, will trigger the operation of the attic ventilation fans. In timed delay systems, the operators will set a specific time of operation for them to start. The main differences between the two systems are the following. Thermostat based systems can become more efficient than timed delay based attic ventilation systems in cases where the time and the strength of temperature changes are varied because they can change the strength and instances of the fans operation speed. However, thermostat systems are harder and more expensive to maintain than timed systems.
Roof mounted attic ventilation fans
The final classes of attic ventilation fans that are commonly used today are the roof and gable mounted attic ventilation fans. These fan systems are derived from the early passive heat dispersion designs used in warehouses and factories at the turn of the century up until today. These systems are based on the principles of heat exchange where hot air moves upward. The roof and gable mounted systems use this principle to add to the effectiveness of the powered fan system. Because of the placement of the fan, only the warmer air is blown out, increasing its efficiency.