How Solar Attic Fans Work

In Air Tech by The LeverEdge

Share this Post

The LeverEdge customers enjoy access to energy and water quality professionals who can provide guidance and advice related to reducing energy costs, improving quality of life, and better managing air quality.

Our customers keep returning because it’s our years of experience that provide the most amount of value for them. The high quality of the products we sell doesn’t hurt, either.

Of those products, one in particular stands out as an often-overlooked way to improve energy efficiency and reduce heating and cooling costs. That product is the solar-powered attic fan, and in today’s blog post, we’ll be explaining just what makes this handy device such a boon.

Air Distribution 101

Let’s talk about how air typically moves throughout a building.

Wherever there is forced air, there will be slight changes in air pressure. As a general rule, air pressure is what physically moves air from one place to another. When wind blows, you’re experiencing variating fluctuations in air pressure all around you.

Where there is no forced air (i.e., ventilation fans or windows), there isn’t enough air pressure to move air around, a scenario we see a lot with attics and crawl spaces. Because we don’t spend much time in these areas of the building, air quality isn’t as high of a priority.

However, ‘stagnant’ air in these places can pose some problems for home and business owners alike.

Why? There are three main reasons:

  1. When warmer, uncirculated air pools in a single area, it serves as a source of heat for the rest of the home. This adds a cooling burden to the air conditioning system, which will have to work harder, consuming more electricity.
  2. Allergens, dust, and other airborne material can collect in areas of low or no air circulation, creating a potential health hazard. Moreover, moisture in uncirculated areas tends to evaporate much more slowly, providing more opportunities for mold and mildew to prosper.
  3. Attics and crawl spaces that aren’t well-ventilated can cause ‘ice damming’ in the colder months. Ice damming refers to what happens when hail, sleet or snow is melted on the roof because of areas of uncirculated, warmer air in the attic. This runoff water then freezes before reaching the gutters and downspouts, effectively ‘damming’ the roof with ice. This can be problematic and even dangerous if severe enough.

Enter the Solar Attic Fan

When a solar attic fan is installed, the above-listed issues are directly addressed using a small, energy-independent fan that operates completely on its own.

Using power generated by a small, integrated solar panel, the attic fan works around the clock to maintain an ideal amount of air circulation for attics, storage areas, and crawl spaces.

The result is fewer instances of ice damming, healthier, fresher air throughout the home or business, and reduced concentrations of inhalable contaminants in the air.

To learn more about how easy it is to have a solar-powered attic fan added to your home or business, contact The LeverEdge today.

Share this Post