Anybody have experience installing solar powered roof vents/attic fans? I’ve got a 10-12 pitch roof and am considering installing them to help cool off the attic in the summer.
Anybody here got a manufacturer they like?
TF
Anybody have experience installing solar powered roof vents/attic fans? I’ve got a 10-12 pitch roof and am considering installing them to help cool off the attic in the summer.
Anybody here got a manufacturer they like?
TF
Source control, ventilation, and filtration are the keys to healthy indoor air quality. Dehumidification is important too.
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Replies
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=59243.1
"Let's go to Memphis in the meantime, baby" - John Hiatt.
http://grantlogan.net/
With such a high pitch such as yours, you do not need it to be solar. If you build a fake chimney at the highest point, you will make what I call a thermal siphon. All you need is a dampner to regulate it.
Most roofers who has cut holes in high pitched roofs will tell you there is a lot of air coming out of the roof. More air comes out than most little solar fans push out.
I will take mechanical over passive any day. I have put in several thousand, yes thousand solar powered vents. Solarstar power vent is made by SOLATUBE. I have 2 in my own house. They are quiet, easy to install, and worth every penny. I work for a local SOLATUBE dealer, and you can find more info on Solatubes website. Joe.
Edited 10/19/2006 9:39 pm ET by rearmount
I checked "Rearmount's" Solatube website. The statement
"Wind turbines (Whirlybirds): Average 2000 sq. ft. home needs about 9-10 to be effective. 1 wind turbine only vents an 'average' of 150 CFM (cubic feet per minute). requires reasonable wind to spin the turbine. What happens on hot days with no breeze? Or rainy days with no wind? Better than nothing though." Is incorrect. The wind turbine will slow down the flow of air. A hole at the top of the roof will draw more air without the turbine. Installing a passive stack will draw more.
The 20 watt solar fan is $600, they recommend at least 2.
A 20w fan blows less than any table top fan.If anyone is installing a solar vent, at the top of a high pitched roof, describe to me how much air is coming out of the hole in the roof before and after the installation. The airflow is tremendous with plenty of eaves vents and a higher roof.
Apropos of almost nothing, here're my vents. Only one's spinning in our current light breeze.
Passive makes perfect sense to me.PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!