HOW MUCH VENTILATION IS ENOUGH? HOW CAN SOLAR ATTIC FANS HELP?
In the past I’ve spoken a lot about the importance of achieving proper attic ventilation.. I’ve also mentioned how iSolar Solutions’ lineup of solar attic fans are the perfect solution for keeping your attic dry and protected from mold.
Now, people often ask me, “Bryan, how much attic ventilation is enough to keep my attic cool, dry, and mold free?” Well, let me tell you. It’s all about understanding why most homes aren’t built with proper attic ventilation. And also about how solar attic fans can bridge that ventilation gap.
How do solar attic fans protect your attic
Many homeowners I meet are often shocked to learn their home’s existing attic ventilation isn’t enough to keep their roof interior dry and mold free. That is because their home comes with passive vents, which rely on differences in interior and exterior pressure to circulate air in and out of the attic.
These are often enough to satisfy local building codes. But they really don’t cut it when it comes to proper ventilation. They lack mechanical parts, so they don’t have enough power to keep an attic adequately cool and dry.
This is especially a hassle for homeowners in colder climates I encounter. During the winter months, they face the dangers of dealing with hazardous ice dams. These happen when snow melts upon landing on a home’s warm roof, trickling into the eaves, and then refreezing. Basically, big blockades of ice form in the eaves, and block drainage. This causes further runoff to seep back underneath an attic’s shingles. And where there’s moisture building up, there’s bound to be mold.
For homeowners in more tropical climates, the buildup of hot, humid air in a home’s attic causes their air conditioners to work harder. Without proper ventilation, the humid air traps moisture indoors. And what do we get when there’s moisture built up? Mold!
To combat these problems, I often recommend iSolar Solutions’ lineup of solar attic fans. These fans switch on automatically when the sun shines to give your home’s existing passive vents a much needed boost. The added ventilation prevents ice dams from forming in the winter. It can also cool your homes attic by as much as 10C in the summer.
I especially recommend iSolar Solutions’ bestselling 20W106-FLEX model, as it fits neatly into most of those existing passive vent openings. And installing one doesn’t take a lot of time at all.
OK that’s great Bryan, but how much ventilation is enough?
You should ventilate your attic regularly to keep it dry and moisture free. And what does “regularly” mean? It means your attic’s air must be cycled out at least 10 times every hour. That’s every six minutes! Your home’s built-in passive vents just aren’t up to the task! That probably explains why attic air always feels extremely stale and musty, sometimes permeating into your living space.
Sure, there are other options out there. But most of them require plugging into the grid. This means higher electricity bills. On the other hand, solar attic fans add nothing to your home’s electricity bills since they are powered solely by the sun. Without complicated wiring, there is no need to hire an electrician.
Interested in getting a solar attic fan for your home? Get in touch with the kind folks at iSolar Solutions to learn more!
