Benefits of an Attic Gable Fan
There are many benefits associated with installing an attic gable fan. The attic is the room in your house where you spend the least amount of time, but if you make an attic gable fan a permanent resident in this room, this seldom-seen tool can help keep your house cool, protect your roof framing, electrical work, and plumbing, as well as control the flow of moisture. Simply put, this invisible guest can do you a lot of good.
Ventilation
Saving money on energy is probably the most obvious advantage of having an attic gable fan, but this small addition can also add service life to major components. By lowering the attic temperature, you can delay repair or replacement of insulation, roof framing and trusses, electrical wiring, venting, plumbing, and other components set in the attic.
Temperature Control
When you consider how an attic gable fan can reduce the upper-floor room temperature by 10 degrees on a hot day, it’s easy to understand what an advantage having one of these is. You may be able to save nearly 30 percent on your home air-conditioning costs.
The Attic's Role
The attic is pivotal to the overall temperature of your house. Attics are a buffer zone, a transitional space between the interior or your house and the outdoors. You want to regulate this buffer zone’s temperature and thus keep the living space at a more consistent temperature. Gable fans work in tandem with insulation, which slows down heat’s upward flow, and keeps your house warmer in cold months and cooler during hot times.
Moisture Levels
Having an attic gable fan helps regulate the moisture levels and temperatures in your attic. For instance, when the temperatures outside begin to dip, air can leak around ceiling light fixtures, exhaust fans, and attic access panels. This then brings moisture from the inside of your house into the attic area. Even the act of taking something out of your attic and bringing it into the home increases attic moisture levels because warm moist air drifts up through the access area.
Many times, we think fans are just there to provide immediate gratification. We set them up in rooms near windows to immediately cool a room on a hot day. With an attic gable fan, many of the benefits go unnoticed at the time. There is an element of immediate gratification, though, as one of these fans will lower the house temperature on a hot day. At the end of the day, no matter how you look at it, installing an attic gable fan is a smart idea.
