Attic venting is an important aspect of maintaining a healthy, energy efficient home. The Natural Light Solar Attic Fan works with your existing passive vents to improve air circulation. Adding a solar attic fan is a simple and affordable home improvement product that overtime will pay for itself. Cooling your attic space in the summer can reduce your AC costs. It will also extend the life of your roof shingles and prevent damaging rot and ice damming.
The most obvious reason for attic ventilation is to lower the attic temperature during the warmer months. Attic temperatures can exceed 160°F during hot summer days. Proper attic ventilation can reduce those temperatures by up to 40°F. No matter how much insulation is in the attic, heat can still transfer into adjacent living spaces. In fact, extra insulation can actually add to temperature increases because heat is trapped in the insulation. Proper ventilation removes this excess heat build-up. As the heat is exhausted, the workload of your air conditioning system is reduced, thereby saving energy costs and even extending the life of your air conditioning system.
Though asphalt shingles are designed to take the abuse of the sun for many years, they are subjected to greater temperatures when the roof decking is allowed to overheat, which is just what happens in an under ventilated attic. In fact, asphalt shingle manufacturers warranties require proper attic ventilation. During the colder months, attic ventilation removes the warm, moist air that heat sources produce. Hot moist air lingering in the attic spaces can condense on the underside of the roof sheathing and rot it out. Moisture in the attic also causes mold to develop on the interior walls. Cold air in the attic space will not affect the temperature in the adjacent living spaces if properly insulated.
In the cooler months, moisture is the most serious concern. Even with the use of vapor barriers to keep moisture from entering the attic, there are air leaks around ceiling light fixtures, bathroom exhaust fans that allow unwanted moisture into the attic. Moisture condensing on the framing members and the inside of the roof deck can lead to the growth of mold, mildew and rot in the roof deck and framing. A good indicator of a moisture problem is rusty roof nails sticking through the roof deck.