Installing an Attic Fan can save you money

10/18/2020 (Permalink)

Installing an Attic Fan can save you money

Another Life Lesson I learned recently. I know attics are HOT, we spend a lot of time in attics. I know they can reach 120 degrees or more. But I never really thought about how a hot attic affected my electricity bill and how much I use my air conditioner. Recently I have been trying to figure out why I was not benefiting from my solar system that was supposed to be a net zero on my electricity and now I am facing a true up of almost $2000. This journey took me through two main eye openers for me, which in reality should have been no brainers. One is the ash on the panels, separate story. But the other is the impact of keeping the attic cool and the amount that it can impact the electricity bill, and the amount of air conditioning that is needed to cool the house. They say that keeping the attic from reaching these really high temperatures can have an impact as much as 15% on your electricity and the amount of time you run your A/C. The idea is simple, install a fan that blows the super hot air out of the attic, the air that is evacuated is made up by the outside air being pulled in from outside. The outside air, while still possibly 100 degrees is still cooler than the 120 + temperature air. Wow what a simple concept. So I did it, I installed an attic fan. Cost me $139 from Home Depot and took less than 30 minutes to install. It is Bluetooth enabled so I can see the temperature in the attic and the speed of the fan, as well as adjust it and operate it without having to go inside the attic. The last several days I have been monitoring the attic temperature and it has consistently been within a degree of the outside air. Even when the temperatures reached 100 degrees outside. The house feels cooler and we aren't running the A/C as much. Who knew? Again, sounds basic, and common sense, but yet something we don't necessarily really think about.