One of the products that I sell is a Solar Powered Attic Fan. In theory, these are a great replacement for the electric powered fans that many homes have. But, from what I have learned about attic ventilation, a powered ventilation fan may end up costing you money.

It seems that at one time, possibly as early as the 1970's, home builders began incorporating electric powered fans in attics to cool them off in the summer time. The theory was that increasing attic ventilation by running a powered fan would lower the more expensive cost of using air conditioning to cool the interior of a home. The only problem with this theory is that a home is seldom sealed air tight between the interior of the home and the attic. This means that a powered fan will essentially suck cooled air from inside your house up through your attic and out of the roof vent.

 

So the question is, why would you want to purchase a solar powered attic ventilation fan from me?

 

Well, the short answer is that if you run AC during the summer, you probably shouldn't have one. You also shouldn't have an electric powered vent in your attic either as it will be costing you just as much. The exception would be if your attic has adequate soffit vents, and the interior of your house is sealed from the attic (every fixture is sealed with spray foam insulation), you might benefit from one.

 

If you do not run AC, a Solar Star will help in keeping your house cooler. There are a number of other solutions you can incorporate as well, including circulating the naturally cooler air in your basement into the main floor of your home. You can also add a whole house fan that sucks the warmer air out of your house once it cools down in the winter and buy a large dehumidifier to lower the humidity (and thereby the heat index) in your home. 

 

Every home has a different solution to proper ventilation, and I am hesitant as someone interested in renewable energy solutions to simply slap a Solar Star on every home that wants one. Sure I may make some money, but in the process I am costing the homeowner more money every summer that the Solar Star operates in additional cooling costs.