Do You Need an Attic Fan?

For many homeowners, attics serve as a place to store Christmas lights and decorations, but not much else. It can be easy to overlook your attic when it comes time for home improvement. The Florida heat can increase attic temperatures to excruciating levels, but an attic fan can counteract this. Never heard of attic fans and their benefits? Today, we will discuss the pros and cons of attic fans for Florida homes.

Attics accumulate hot air and trap it in the higher levels of your home. Attic fans circulate this air and release it into the atmosphere, with cooler air rushing in to take its place. Attic fans are not mandatory for new home construction but can be a lifesaver in certain situations.

Benefits of Attic Fans

Attics become much hotter than the surrounding air, as the hot air does not have any room to dissipate. A balmy summer day can cause your attic to reach temperatures nearing 160 degrees Fahrenheit! While this temperature is mainly localized to the attic itself, it also has repercussions throughout the rest of the home. To start, any areas of the house that are adjacent to or near the attic, common in two-story homes, can be affected by the higher air temperatures accumulating at the top of the house. Dissipating the air in the attic will make room for any hot air in the top story of the house to fill the pressure gap and escape the actual house itself. This passive cooling method can lessen the strain on your HVAC system and lead to lower energy costs. Summer months are also notorious for broken AC units, so any technique that reduces stress on your system should be utilized as much as possible.

Attic fans also help out when the cooler winter months approach. Attic fans help to circulate the air out of the home and prevent excessive buildup of moisture that forms when hotter air from the heated house rises into the cooler attic. Without an attic fan, the possibility of mold causing structural damage to your roof or walls increases. Preventing these expensive repairs should be at the top of every homeowner’s checklist.

Drawbacks of an Attic Fan

Attic fans do not have many downsides when in working order and used correctly. However, just as with all things in life, there are certain things to keep in mind. Attic fans are not free and might be prohibitively expensive to install and purchase if you are on a budget. Running the fan also takes energy, but savings from less AC usage should offset these costs.

We stress the importance of trained professionals installing attic fans because they can be useless or detrimental if certain conditions are not met. If your attic is not adequately insulated, any good the fan can provide will quickly be outdone by hot summer air pouring in through the cracks. A fan that is not appropriately installed can significantly damage the roof and create catastrophic leaks. Poor wiring is a huge fire hazard as well.

When designing, renovating, or building a new home, it is important not to gloss over the smaller details. Attic fans are a great way to keep your house cool and protected without much thought. If you are a Sarasota resident looking for additional ways to improve your home through remodeling or renovation, call the West Coast Design Build Florida team. We specialize in kitchen, bathroom, and outdoor living space renovations.