Earth Day tech: solar-powered attic fan
Back in 2005, we turned in our gas-guzzling truck and took stock of a 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. We increased our gas mileage from 13 to 30 mpg as a result. Sure we could have gone with a vehicle that gave us even more fuel efficiency, but in our neck of the woods, we need a vehicle with AWD, if not 4WD, so this was the best “earth-friendly” choice we could make.Today I grabbed something else along these lines, just to do my little part for Earth Day. I’ve been waiting to see a solar-powered attic fan readily available and now I’ve found one. This nearly-silent unit set me back $180 and will get installed later this week. It only pushes 500 CFM, which is much less air movement than an electric powered unit, but since we don’t have an attic fan at all right now, it’s better than the current situation. This fan will run automatically whenever the sun hits the 10W panel; no thermostat or switch. That works out well, since the attic is heating up the most when the sun is shining. Hopefully, the unit will save me electricity in the long run. Not because the unit uses no electricity, but because I expect the air conditioning to run less in the summer due to lower heat in the attic. Here’s hoping!
A pretty good example of small changes that often provide benefits outside of their weight class
We installed one of those in my sister’s house in central Florida a while back. A real install and forget it’s there improvement. Silent running and only a positive impact on your power bill, not to mention the improved comfort level in the house. This is a really simple upgrade I totally recommend. It took only an hour or two to install.
Kevin where did you find it for that price? The one we bought cost twice that. (Though this was at least a year ago.)
Eric, our local Home Depot carries it for $179. I just hit their website and it appears there, although it’s not sold online: http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100551938
The roofer that’s installing mine bought one a year ago for $300, so they must have come down in price as you say. I’m having a roofer do the easy install because I don’t trust myself to cut a hole in my roof. If this was a RAM upgrade, I’d be all over it, but I’ll let the expert handle this one.
I have been thinking about to install one of those too! Real good news! How much people charge for installing these?
You couldn’t have posted this on a better day. I had literally just hung up the phone with my mother who was discussing solar attic fans — she was about to jump to a vent system because he said you can’t get an attic fan for under $600. So much for his info!
BTW, one other benefit to mention: Fire safety. Electric attic fans are much more likely to burn out and start an electrical fire than a solar fan is.
Kevin, could you give us the brand name and model? I just tried the link to Home Depot you provided and get an error product not found. I’ve tried searching their inventory for solar attic fans and can’t get one to show up.
Thanks,
kal
The roofer lives in our development and he’s charging me $125 to install. Although it looks very easy to install, I’d rather pay someone to have it done right.
This link might be better as it’s the manufacturer’s product page. http://www.gaf.com/Content/GAF/RES1/ROOF/MasterFlowSolarIntakeBooster.html