Powered Attic Fan And Ridge Vent

While a power vent fan combined with a ridge vent can work against the natural flow of air through the attic it will still exhaust more hot air than not having a fan at all it s just not the most efficient way to go about it.

Powered attic fan and ridge vent.

Choosing a ridge vent or an attic fan. An attic fan is an active system that actually forces air out. Fan rarely necessary vents that run along the roof ridge are an alternative to those that exit through the roof decking or gables and if the ridge is long enough they may be the only roof vents. Ridge vents are a passive system simply allowing hot air to rise up through them rather than pushing it out as a fan does.

If you have few vents in your attic most of the air will be drawn from inside the house. Also since the fan is powered by the sun it should turn off when the sky is overcast during a storm which will keep it from drawing rain into the attic. And then the vent fits on top of that. Unlike ridge vents attic fans use electricity and need regular maintenance to keep working properly.

Since your solar vent fan only moves 500 cfm a third to half that of a typical hardwired attic vent fan it probably won t move enough air to reverse the action of the ridge vent. A fan may actually suck air conditioned air from your home into the attic. Attic fans can also make a lot of noise. Having both a power vent and ridge vent installed on your roof can short circuit the attic ventilation system.

When the power vent goes on it can actually pull air from the ridge vent which can cause an imbalance of airflow along the underside of the roof deck. Now for the other sections of roof and attic that are again separated from that garage space there you should use a continuous ridge vent. When you are deciding between a ridge vent or an attic fan consider the needs of the attic. And be careful with the type of vent that you.