Reducing the heat load in your attic will cut down on the amount of cooling your home needs. One of the best ways to accomplish this in our region is with a solar attic fan. The San Joaquin Valley has plentiful sunshine to power the fan during the sunniest hours of the day.
In the summer your attic can reach over 150 degrees, and that heat can radiate through the insulation and into your home, which drives up cooling bills. An attic fan is the most effective way to cool your attic in the summer, and it also will reduce humidity levels, which can degrade insulation and promote mold growth.
Fans pull cooler outdoor air through the vents in the attic and blow out the heated air. Dropping the air temperature in the attic also prolongs the life of your roof, even if it’s tile. The sheathing beneath the tiles will disintegrate faster when it’s warmer. If the ductwork for your cooling system runs through the attic and isn’t wrapped with insulation, you’ll see your cooling bills drop immediately by simply installing a solar attic fan.
Before you select and install the fan, consult with a trusted contractor who can evaluate your attic and its current ventilation. If you install too large an attic fan or have blocked vents, you could end up pulling conditioned air through the ceiling between your rooms and the attic, which raises cooling bills.
The contractor can help you calculate the size of fan you need based on the cubic footage of your attic. Selecting a solar fan that also can use your home’s power also will help you run the fan at night, to take advantage of cooler temperatures after sunset.
If you would like more information about the benefits of a solar attic fan, please contact us at Donald P. Dick Air Conditioning. We’ve provided outstanding HVAC services for the Fresno area for more than 40 years.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in the greater Fresno, California area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about solar attic fans and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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