Temperatures in our attics. Just an fyi, I have a white transponder in the attic and I'm able to see what the temperatures are as the unit relays the information to the clock inside. In two years it has never exceeded 118 degrees - which is quite hot but not at all like the 135 degrees that a contractor shows on their online advertising material.

Mini Split
 

Is your attic insulated over the garage? Munns installed mini split in lanai and insulated the ceiling over the lanai.

It is now a few hours later and I stand corrected. An attic fan and a garage fan are two different things. According to the Solar Guy here now doing my install, a garage fan is much larger and will help cool the garage a noticeable bit. An attic fan will help cool the over all attic area and probably will not change the garage temp that much, but helps to keep the overall attic temperature just a little lower.

Save your money, the Fan just brings in dust and Hot Air. The vents in the garage door weakened your doors Hurricane rating.
Jus put A/C in your garage.

Cool attic
 

We had a radiant barrier added to our attic and it made a major difference in attic temp. Keeps the house cooler in the summer and helps keep the house warmer in the winter.

When it comes to windows in a garage, do they impact the overall temperature of the garage? Outside of aesthetics, is there a functional reason to add windows other than some additional light?

Radiant barrier was installed several years ago. I am having an attic exhaust fan installed because it is still hot in my garage.

Hang meat in the garage with a Mini-Split.... or use the fan to bring outside air and push it out the attic.. it's comes down to choices and money! Can't take it with !

True Lmack
 

Totally agree with that point as ventilation is always the key to keeping the roof and attic as cool as possible. Let us know which contractor did a good job please, even if you aren't qualified to render a professional evaluation opinion

faux engineering guy

:boom:


:ho:

No, but I take the choice that cost me less money; I grew up not having ANYTHING and I have accumulated wealth in my 68 years to the point where we’re going to live comfortably and then leave a bunch to our two kids.

Garage too hot
 

If I get a 2 ton mini split, how important is it that I insulate the garage doors and the attic?

If you air condition the garage, or any space, you definitely need to insulate the ceiling and garage doors.

Garage too hot
 

Thank you

Not allowed.

For getting your garage cool it doesn't make much difference. If I were to choose I would insulate the door.

Now if you are going to keep your garage cool for hours on end as in a office space or a quilting machine room, then I would insulate. But cooling your garage for an afternoon while you putter around it won't matter nor will the insulation ever pay for itself.

The difference between me and retired guy is I actually have a two ton mini split and he does not. I know what it costs to operate and he does not. Important differences when giving advice.

Garage too hot
 

Thanks for the reply. I am thinking about putt my ham radio gear in a part of the garage. Of course would like it cool when I was using the rig, but I was wondering if the heat would affect the electronics at other times. Any thoughts on that?

In my house and other homes in our neighborhood very few, if any, homes have windows in the garage. This would have helped the heat issue and create more light in my garage. 1st house that I have seen without seeing windows.

Am going to check into possibility of putting in window(s) in the garage.

Worked with computer equipment for over 40 years, heat is the enemy of all things electronic. You probably would want to set a maximum temperature 78 degrees or so and not let it get any hotter. Also, humidity doesn't do good things to electronics either, kind of the one two punch as far as electronic longevity is concerned.

Anyone replace a few of their garage Windows with screens in lieu of vents for air intake.

Since this appears to be asked of me, I defer to the max rating for consumer electronics 104 degrees, source https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...lCPvj2&ampcf=1

I understand the mindset of IT types, I ran across this in Kuwait. The logic appears to be if cool is good, cold must be better. Certainly there was no basis for that as military electronics is rated to operate at a much higher temp than 104 f, I believe it is rated to 154 f (70 Celsius)

Obviously you can have it set far above 78 degrees many people keep their entire home hotter than that.

So what does the Solar Guys charge for an attic fan?

Solar Guys
 

I had the Garage fan put in this Spring by Solar Guys, was about $950 ( can vary by size). Garage is cooler this Summer and you actually feel the air flow some. I have it set to turn on when the garage hits about 95. Is much better out there then the last few years though.

Any air moving into the attic and out the soffits etc has to help in the attic for heat buildup, humidity, etc also.

I can hear it slightly from inside the house near the garage, but it sounds like a small fan running. Do not even notice it unless I listen for it. May be my imagination, but seems like my AC runs less.

Obviously if you want to work out in the garage a lot, Split HVAC and insulation would be better. Much more costly to install and run all summer though.

Actually I was inquiring about an attic fan, not the garage fan but thanks for this info too.

this issue should never happen. these houses are so poorly constructed with inferior products I'm amazed there aren't more issues.. who builds a house without insulating the garage area. in Florida roof fans are not installed just some useless vents.. wall studs without consistency of center to center or material.. wood or metal.. drier vents out the roof. how do you clean them(call a vent cleaner) I'm constantly finding more issues the more I try to do things in it.

I disagree. The houses are not poorly constructed.

The garage is an unconditioned space. I have never seen a builder insulate an unconditioned space, regardless of where the house is constructed. It's a waste of money, and will not keep the garage cool.

There is nothing wrong with mixing wood and steel studs in a house. Attic fans are nice, but usually not provided with new construction. Ridge vents are the standard. And, yes, you do need to clean out the dryer vent no matter where it discharges to.

What would be the point of insulating the garage? Without HVAC, it will get either hot or cold.

Ridge and sofit vents are designed to control moisture in the attic through natural convection. Attic fans have been researched and are not worthwhile because they do not address the primary mechanism of heat transfer in the attic: radiative transfer from the underside of the roof decking. The builders could do better with a sealed attic via spray foam insulation on the underside of the roof decking. The builders have been installing radiant barriers for the last several years, which is an improvement.

Wall studs are wood for load bearing walls and metal for non load bearing walls.

You clean the dryer vent by going on the roof every 5 years or so or call a vent cleaner. I have had dryer vents through the roof and through a side wall in previous homes. It is what it is.