Ridge Vent Or Solar Attic Fan

Choosing a ridge vent or an attic fan.

Ridge vent or solar attic fan.

Adding roof ridge vents can reduce summer air conditioning costs prevent roof mildew and rot and keep your roof in better shape longer. Unlike ridge vents attic fans use electricity and need regular maintenance to keep working properly. Typically ridge vents need two feet of clearance on either end. An attic fan is an active system that actually forces air out.

Fan rarely necessary vents that run along the roof ridge are an alternative to those that exit through the roof decking or gables and if the ridge is long enough they may be the only roof vents. Since your solar vent fan only moves 500 cfm a third to half that of a typical hardwired attic vent fan it probably won t move enough air to reverse the action of the ridge vent. Solar power is safer to use with an attic fan. And then the vent fits on top of that.

Installing roof ridge vents and more attic insulation are better options experts say. Cool attic 433 cfm mill galvanized steel solar powered attic fan with adjustable solar panels model cxsolrfmilups 438 43 438 43. They also create zones of negative pressure that could pull the ac cooled air into the attic. This can make keeping a 2 to 1 soffit to ridge vent ratio difficult.

A roofer installs a ridge vent. Attic fans can also make a lot of noise. When you are deciding between a ridge vent or an attic fan consider the needs of the attic. Out of stock online.

Powered completely by solar energy a solar attic fan improves attic air circulation resulting in a healthy energy efficient home. Get the maximum benefit from ridge ventilation by adding our solar ridgeblaster roof fans and solar panels for a clean and green solution to boost your attic ventilation. Remove hot attic air from the highest point even more effectively with solar ridgeblaster. Set your store to see local availability add to cart.

Also since the fan is powered by the sun it should turn off when the sky is overcast during a storm which will keep it from drawing rain into the attic. Now for the other sections of roof and attic that are again separated from that garage space there you should use a continuous ridge vent. Even when its fan isn t running the solar attic fan 14 inch opening allows passive ventilation. View the master flow roof vents 322 45 322 45.

If you have a six foot hip roof that means you only get four feet of venting. Ridge vents are a passive system simply allowing hot air to rise up through them rather than pushing it out as a fan does. The safety and effectiveness of an attic fan is a subject that is hotly debated but line powered products usually cost more to operate than they can produce in savings during the summer. Purchasing an electric or solar attic fan may not provide the savings that homeowners expect.

Ridge venting is one of many passive roof vent options that you can choose from.