Does A Solar Attic Fan Save Money

Find out whether it is economical to run an attic fan.

Does a solar attic fan save money.

Here are some more benefits of getting a solar attic fan. Meanwhile solar attic fans are free to run lower your electric bills and have few costs beyond purchase and installation. Energy star rated solar attic fans still qualify for a federal tax credit of 30 percent of your purchase and installation costs. Attic fans are not recommended if you have central air conditioning because when you turn the fan on in the summer it depressurizes the attic but also reaches down into your house and starts drawing off air conditioned air effectively driving up your cooling costs.

Because of the negative pressure inside the house that these fans create i don t feel that they save you money on electricity or cooling costs. Hip roofs are tough. Instead of installing a fan just make sure your attic is well ventilated. That means it could take between 10 15 years to get back to even with this investment.

Bridgett w tampa fla. Attic fans cool the attic which helps cool the rooms just under it. The only time i would ever use an attic fan is if i had a roof that was unusually difficult to vent passively. A single fan typically costs 300 to 600 plus an extra 100 to 150 each for installation.

You re almost always better off using passive ventilation like a ridge vent a soffit vent that sort of thing to reduce attic temperatures and not use an attic fan. It s usually better to take the money you would spend on an attic fan and instead spend it on increasing the insulation levels in the attic and the airtightness of the attic floor plane. My husband really thinks it s a great idea to buy a solar attic fan but i don t want to waste the money if it does little or nothing. Larger homes that need larger a c units can save even more.

As hgtv points out cooling a 1 000 square foot home with solar attic fans can save you about 40 per year in a warm climate like florida. Let s assume that you have a supertight house and no. For example if you had a hip roof. Using a whole house fan can result in a savings of over 300 each month of running a 3500w a c unit during the hottest part of summer.