During the summer months, your attic can feel like a sauna. You’re not forcing cold air from your AC to your attic (because it would be a waste), but there are also two other points to factor in.
Heat naturally rises, so any heat in your home will rise into the attic. On top of that, the sun’s rays beat down on your roof shingles and heat transfer makes your attic hotter.
So what’s the best way to combat this? The answer is attic fan installation in your Sacramento, CA home. Let’s explain in more detail because an attic fan does a lot more than you’d think.
Attic Fans Circulate Air to Reduce Attic Temperatures
Let’s be clear: an attic fan isn’t going to really cool your attic. Instead, it brings your attic temperature to the same temperature as the outdoor air. Here’s why that’s still a good thing.
When heat penetrates your roof, that heat transfers to your attic and collects there. Coupled with rising heat from your home, it can be 20 degrees hotter than the outdoor temperature.
Moving that air around reduces the temperature and at least brings it down to reasonable levels. This can be beneficial for your HVAC system because it can simply circulate the air.
Attic Fans Can Also Vent Air Outside
Some attic fans work by pulling in cooler air from outside and venting the hot air in your attic outside. Instead of simply circulating air, they work during the peak hours of the day to actually remove hot air altogether.
This improves your attic airflow so that hot, stuffy air is vented outside. Think about how hot air penetrating your roof and increasing the temperature of your attic works, then apply it to the ceiling inside your home.
If the attic heats up, the heat can spill into your home through the ceiling. Keeping your attic cooler helps your HVAC system at the same time.
They Lower the Humidity Level
Fans that create airflow help expel humidity. When a breeze blows through a humid space, the air movement evaporates that moisture.
If your fan also pulls air out of your attic and directs that flow to the outdoors, you’re removing even more humidity. Humidity makes heat more unbearable, but it also causes problems for wood in attics.
Wood absorbs moisture, then it expands. When it becomes dry again as it cools down in the evening, the wood dries and stops swelling.
This causes cracks in the wood which can lead to more problems in your home. This reduces HVAC efficiency during the winter months and can lead to structural integrity problems within your attic.
So How Does This Benefit Your HVAC System?
Your HVAC system works in tandem with an attic fan to keep your home cool and well-ventilated. These are some of the direct benefits for your HVAC system that come from using an attic fan.
- Less stress on your HVAC, leading to fewer repairs
- Shorter HVAC runtime to save energy and money
- Reduces heat near the top of your home, reducing AC dependency
- If HVAC vents are in the attic, fans help keep potential moisture/mold problems at bay
A Ceiling Fan is the Addition You Need
Attic fans help you ventilate your home and reduce your energy costs, even though you’re adding another appliance to the list. Now that you know how they benefit your HVAC system and home cooling efforts, it’s time to schedule your installation.
Contact Sierra Pacific Home & Comfort, Inc. today to schedule attic ceiling fan installation from “The Guys in the Big Red Trucks.”