1. Attic Fans - A Good Way to Help Cool Your Home (By Dennis McAuley)
2. 5 Tips For Keeping Your House Cool (By Marcy Tate)
3. Understanding Mechanical Ventilation on Your Own (By Gavin Cruise)
   
   

Attic fans work in tandem with open soffit vents to lower the temperatures in the attic. They work on the premise of bringing air in from the soffit vents and dispersing that same air out through the attic fan mounted in the roof. The unit is mounted in the roof decking, at about the same area as a roof vent. Under normal conditions, only one fan is needed per attic area. The motor is powered by electricity or solar power and is controlled by a thermostat. It is designed to operate at a temperature set normally about 110-115 degrees; much like setting a thermostat for the furnace or air conditioning. Installation is best left to those who have good construction and electricity skills. If you don't have the skills or feel uncomfortable on roofs or around electricity, hire a qualified contractor to install the attic fan to the best standards.

The key to maintaining good attic circulation is to ensure there aren't any open roof or ridge vents. If there are open vents in the roof, they will not allow proper ventilation of the attic as the it will only draw air from the roof vents or the top third of the attic space. It will not draw air from the soffit vents as is the desired effect. Cover the vents from inside the attic. Covering the vents will ensure exterior air enters from the soffit vents and out the fan.

If you decide to aide ventilation of the attic by installing an attic fan, choose wisely. There are many questions that need to be answered in selecting the proper attic fan:

• What is the square footage of the attic? Purchase the correct size fan. Going small won't move the amount of air to ventilate the attic.
• Is there electric service in the attic? If not, this will add costs to your project.
• Solar powered vs. electric power? Be aware, solar powered attic fans are not yet as powerful as the ones powered by electricity. Nor can it move as much air. They will improve as they become more popular.
• Present ventilation in the attic, is it doing the job required? If so, why change?!
• Is the attic insulated? If not, it should be.

If you want to increase attic ventilation, this is one of the means in which it can be done. Do your homework and choose wisely. Attic fans installed to the best standards and right size can help keep the attic cooler. Increasing attic ventilation correctly can save money.


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Don't sweat it out when you don't have to. Got your A/C running and still feel warm? Here are some tips that will help keep you and your home feeling cooler, help save on your energy bills and make you feel overall better on those hot summer days.

1. Make sure your HVAC System is running properly. If your A/C is running but just not keeping you cool then you may want to consider a maintenance check by a professional HVAC contractor. It won't cost you that much and it could end up saving you money in the long run.
2. Window treatments. Do your windows have drapes, shades, blinds or other coverings? When the sun is blaring down on your home and in through the windows, the best thing to to is to cover them up. The bright morning sun and powerful sunsets usually create the hottest sun into the house. Having good quality window treatments (and closing them when necessary) will really help keep the house cooler.
3. Insulation- Having sufficient insulation levels in your attic, and in some cases in your walls too will help keep the cool air in your home. Without proper insulation levels, the air can easily escape the house, making you feel warm instead of cool.
4. Attic Ventilation- The air up in a poorly ventilated attic can reach temperatures of up to 170 degrees in, even when it's just in the 80's outside. Proper attic ventilation includes: installing gable, soffit, and roof vents along with attic fans. An attic fan works by blowing the hot air out so that you can feel much cooler.
5. Ceiling Fans- Ceiling fans work so well at bringing an additional means for cool air circulation in your home. Ideally, you should have one in every room that you spend significant time in. Not only will you feel cooler and more comfortable, but your energy bills could decrease form not having to run your A/C as much.

Stay cool and stay calm and remember to install a programmable thermostat for additional energy savings.

Marcy Tate is a content writer for Networx.com and has been working in the home improvement industry for over 12 years.

At Networx.com, we connect homeowners with reliable, professional, trustworthy contractors who are screened by us and reviewed by consumers like you.

Find reliable HVAC Contractors to help keep your home cool at HVAC Networx The Professional contractors at Networx can give you a free quote on any of your HVAC needs.

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Understanding mechanical ventilation is very important especially when you have a poorly ventilated attic and the non mechanical means won't work. If the ventilation in your attic is not improving, it's time to go for mechanical ventilation. Mechanical types of ventilation make use of fans or turbines, using pressure to remove the air that eventually causes moisture in your attic. Remember, having a well ventilated home helps us prevent any respiratory issues we may be faced with a poorly ventilated home. Attic ventilation is certainly an important concern for all homeowners.

Mechanical vents work hand in hand with other types of vents. They work together to help avoid moisture build-up in your attic and at the same time, lower temperatures as well. Let's take a look at the different types of mechanical vents.

Let's start with the gable mounted ventilators. It's one of the popular types of mechanical vents to install. For one, it's among the easiest ones to install and can dramatically increase air flow. This type of mechanical ventilator is installed inside an existing non-mechanical vent, which is also the gable vent. In fact, in most cases installing this requires no carpentry at all but make sure you have some electrical skills to connect them to an electrical outlet. Aside from this type of gable mounted ventilator, there is another one that has its own opening or shutter system. This does not have to be mounted on an existing non-mechanical gable vent. With this kind, you'll have to do some carpentry skills. But the good thing about it is that it offers better ventilation than the previous one. Now let's continue understanding mechanical ventilation with the next kind of mounted ventilator, the roof mounted ones.

Now if you're weaning away from the mechanical ventilation, another way to go is with the roof-mounted ventilators. There are two types of roof mounted ventilation. There are the powered ones and the non-powered ones. You can also call the unpowered ones as turbine attic ventilators. They are effective in pumping out the heated air. This, together with insulating an attic will definitely make a well ventilated attic. Turbine attic ventilators come in various sizes in diameter. The larger the diameter of the turbine, the better. It's almost as if it's already a powered electric vent on its own. Make sure that if you are going for a roof mounted ventilator, avoid the steel material because rust will definitely build up on that. Go for the plastic ones or those made up of rust-proof aluminum.

Lastly, the other type of roof mounted ventilator is the powered ones. They are among the most effective types of ventilators. Imagine, these types can ventilate up to 2,500 square feet of floor space! Its high position allows it to suck out more heat than the gable mounted ones. It's more appropriate and flexible for a more complex structure or architectural design in homes. Understanding mechanical ventilation on your own isn't such a daunting task. It's easy to know which type of mechanical ventilation is appropriate for your home after you've read about the different types.

Gavin Cruise was born in New York, his mother encouraged him to write and read and his father was a wealthy business man in real estate. Gavin had the privilege of traveling extensively with his father learning about a wide variety of subjects. He attended Harvard where he majored in English and from the age of 26 Gavin supported himself by freelance writing through all the knowledge gained from traveling.

If you would like to read more articles about Gavin Cruise, please visit http://www.basement-ventilation.com

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