Solar Attic Fans Are Easy Do It Yourself Projects
June 3, 2010 by mrlivingston
Filed under Solar Energy
Are you looking for a quick and easy solar energy project for your home that you can do by yourself? Installing a solar attic fan may be just the ticket. Not only is it relatively easy to do, but it will keep your house cooler during hot summer days and nights.
You may not have even realized how much a hot attic contributes to your air conditioning bills. Attics trap and hold all of the hot air that rises in your house. This is great in the winter, but it can prevent your house fm cooling off during the summer.
Attic temperatures can easily soar above 120 degrees Fahrenheit even when outside temperatures are only in the eighties or nineties. Most building codes require attics to be vented, but these vents are simply not designed to cool off the entire attic. And a roof that has no shade receives sun for most of the day.
Installing a traditional attic fan would require a licensed electrician because it would need to be connected to a power source in order to operate. But solar attic fans are constructed with built-in photovoltaic modules powerful enough to run the fans. Not only are they quieter than electric attic fans, but they require no electricity to run since they are installed on the roof and receive direct sunlight.
If you are handy with a saw, drill and screwdriver, and confident enough to cut a hole in your roof, you can install a solar attic fan in a couple of hours. You will need to locate a place on your roof that receives sunlight all day, is near the peak and also near the middle of the attic space. You will be cutting a hole through the composition shingles and roof decking that will accommodate the size or your solar fan.
The trickiest and most important part will be finding the optimal location and cutting the hole the proper size for the fan. A location that faces south will receive the most sunlight. If that is not possible, you can consider buying a model that has a solar module that can be tilted and positioned to face south.
Once the hole has been cut, it is only a matter of securing the solar attic fan to the roof, and caulking around the fan to waterproof your installation. You will be able to immediately feel the cooling effects in your attic. And you will be able to enjoy a more comfortable house and lower cooling bills throughout the summer.
