[BCecil]

I have a patio villa and I am considering putting in a Solar Attic Fan and/or a Garage Cooling Fan. Has anyone done this? Can you tell the difference? Do you recommend doing this?

[Happinow]

We have a gardenia and we put an attic fan in. If the temp goes above 105 the fan comes on. You can set the temp at what ever you are comfortable with. It has already come on this month a few times, so the attic gets unbelievably hot in the heat of the summer months. We highly recommend it.

[villagetinker]

I just put in an attic fan in our Gardenia, and the temperature ion the attic drops 15 -20 sometimes more. I used a 1100 cfm fan which is much larger then any solar fan, and will run into the evening if necessary to cool the attic. Also cost much less then solar fan.
Just my thoughts, hope this helps.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

I just put in an attic fan in our Gardenia, and the temperature ion the attic drops 15 -20 sometimes more. I used a 1100 cfm fan which is much larger then any solar fan, and will run into the evening if necessary to cool the attic. Also cost much less then solar fan.
Just my thoughts, hope this helps.

Where did you get this fan? Did you install yourself?

[2BNTV]

I just had one installed by the Solar Guys. Cost is $629 but I got a $139 discount, for being a good customer. Previously installed, four solar tubes.

I don't have to turn on a light, during the day. They throw off rainbows too!!!
Some can tied to your existing electricity, to turn on at night. I recommend the "opti-view" type lens. A little more expensive, but worth it. IMHO

Worth every penny and you get a tax write-off, for having them installed.

I highly recommend the Solar Guys!!! 866.767.6527. They will come to your home, and install, if you decide you want it. The solar fan installation, was an hour.

Not worth doing oneself. IMHO A lot easier to write a check, than being the roof, with a chance of falling.

I haven't had a leak yet!!! Good people, and very professional. They know their product and are extremely competent!!!

[gamby]

If you have a gas hot water in the garage I would not recommend a garage fan because the fan will suck out the pilot light on the water heater.

[tuccillo]

Attic ventilator fans are an controversial topic. Just so I am sure we are talking about the same thing, these are the fans that mount through your roof to exhaust air from your attic. The reason they are controversial is that they may do more harm than good. The reason for this is that they suck air from the air-conditioned space in the house as well as through the soffit vents to replace the air exhausted out the roof. In addition, the physics of heat transfer in an attic is not what most people think. Heat transfers via convection, conduction, and radiation. Apparently the primary agent for heat transfer to the insulation on your attic floor (and eventually into your air-conditioned space) is radiative transfer from the hot roof sheathing. For this reason, reducing air temperature in the attic has little impact on the air-conditioning requirements for the house.

It is unfortunate that The Villages doesn't use best practices for construction. The best way to handle attics is through spray foam insulation on the underside of the roof sheathing and thereby completely sealing the attic from the outside. With this technique, there is no insulation on the attic floor. The attic becomes semi-conditioned space. I have this in my current home in southeast GA and the temperature in the attic never goes above 85. The sprayfoam insulation on the underside of the roof sheathing prevents the roof sheathing from getting hot and radiating heat to the attic floor. Essentially heat is never let into the attic.

This type of insulation is best applied during construction and retrofitting a new house can be costly, possibly to the point where there is no return on your investment.

Originally Posted by BCecil

I have a patio villa and I am considering putting in a Solar Attic Fan and/or a Garage Cooling Fan. Has anyone done this? Can you tell the difference? Do you recommend doing this?

[jimbo2012]

Do a search, there was an article posted here describing how they really have little or no benefit.

After reading that I decided against it.

These homes are built to code with roof vents already

[SantaClaus]

I'm assuming what we are really talking about are attic ventilator fans, which draw air through the soffits, through the attic and ejecting it through a gable or roof vent. For a bigger bang for your buck, add another layer of insulation in your attic: either blown or roll. Either way you must leave an air gap between the roof sheathing and the insulation. If you do rolls, be sure to roll in the perpendicular direction to the existing insulation/ceiling joists to eliminate leaky gaps. And you only buy insulation once.

If we are talking about about an attic fan, or whole-house fan, which draws air from open windows, through the house and ejects it into the attic, then those are a great money saver in more temperate weather. One thing to remember is, once it gets too hot to use, that fan grate is a huge source of heat infiltration from that flame-thrower of an attic. So once it's off for the season you should lock it out somehow so that it can't be accidentally turned on, and then insulate over it.

[asianthree]

Inspector us instead of putting in an attic fan in the garage to call Seco and have them install a barrier in the ceiling. It would be much more effective then a fan.

[JP]

I don't think you really have to worry about the attic being too hot.
The materials they build it with are designed to be hot.
I really don't think much of the heat "bleeds" down into the house as my air conditioning bills are very reasonable.
After we moved in to our newly built house, I considered an attic fan, more insulation, etc. but I have really found the construction as it is has been more than adequate and I am very pleased with it.

[TheSolarGuys]

Thank you all for your kind words and recommendations for our company. We strive to offer our customers not only the best service but the best products as well. If you have any questions you are welcome to give us a call at 866-669-5259 or visit www.TheSolarGuys.com . You can also visit our local showroom which is located 1 mile south of The Market of Marion on 441. We also offer free in-home consultations to see exactly what situations your home is dealing with.

[eremite06]

The Solar Guys installed two solar roof fans and a garage exhaust fan. My gas water heater pilot light does not go out.

[slipcovers]

Originally Posted by asianthree

Inspector us instead of putting in an attic fan in the garage to call Seco and have them install a barrier in the ceiling. It would be much more effective then a fan.

Your hot water heater should have an electronic ignition not a pilot.

[Happinow]

Originally Posted by Happinow

We have a gardenia and we put an attic fan in. If the temp goes above 105 the fan comes on. You can set the temp at what ever you are comfortable with. It has already come on this month a few times, so the attic gets unbelievably hot in the heat of the summer months. We highly recommend it.

To clarify, we don't have a solar attic fan it's electric.