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.
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