Garage too hot?
 

We had the Solar Guys come to our new home in Bradford and install a garage ventilation fan in our 2 car plus a golf cart garage and it has made a big difference in the temperature of the garage.
We had it in a previous home in St. James.

A little over $800 for the installation of it and the door vents; to us it was worth it.

Does it vent into the attic or directly to the outside?

thanks

We had their solar attic fan installed. We opted not to get the garage ventilation system because I was concerned about fire danger. The way they explained it to me is they put two vents in your garage door and a fan in your garage ceiling. Anywhere else in the country it would be against fire code to vent your garage directly into the attic. If a fire started in your garage it would be in your attic before you were able to hit the 9 in 911.

OK, that makes sense, so why can't the system be vented directly to the outside?

I'm sure it could be. I'm just not sure The Solar Guys would do it that way. Our house is block. I doubt they would want to go through a wall. They might be able to install some chimney type duct work and direct vent it through the roof? But it certainly might worth a call to them and see what they can do.

Attic; helps push hot air out of the attic.

Very good to hear that, Solar Guys are coming tomorrow to install a solar tube and the ventilation fan and I was wondering just how much difference it would make in the garage temperature, we also have a 2 car plus golf cart size garage.

The garage fan has a fire rated damper that will spring closed in the event of a fire.

Since hot air rises I wonder how much of a push it needs!

Thanks! Never considered it. Now I’ll look into it.

Venting the garage will just pull hot air into your garage. For a real difference you need to insulate the garage attic and install a radiant barrier with an attic vent fan. Most of the heat in the garage comes from the attic which can be over 160F c

That’s not a problem with the fan they use. If there is a fire in the garage, that fan has special metal flaps that close to block off any fire. I had a home inspector check it out and he said that fan was the only one that was approved per the building codes. Solar guys know what they’re doing!

Noise
 

Check the noise level before you buy
I can hear my neighbors running from my driveway

I don't think that's really correct. I have had the Solar Guys garage fan for 13 years now and it's one of the best things I could have done. The garage indeed does pull in the outside air, but that's much cooler than the built-up heat that would develop. Plus the attic gets vented which helps cool the entire house a bit. Last, the garage is in the shade and the heat doesn't build up. My garage actually feels cooler than outside.

A mini split in my garage works exceptionally well to keep the garage cool. Two tons of AC pumped into 600 sq ft means it's cool virtually instantly when I want it. 18 SEER means the cost is so low that it is not perceptible in the electric bill.