Attic Fan Reduces AC Use

2014 - Volume #38, Issue #3, Page #31

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With an investment of a little labor, parts on hand, and about $15, David Heeg of Owosso, Mich., figured out a way to cut back on air conditioner use.
    He built an attic fan from an old furnace blower and connected it with a collar to 5 ft. of flexible 12-in. ducting connected to another collar mounted on a wooden access door to the attic. He used 12-ga. electric wire on a 20-amp circuit with a light switch on the access door to turn the fan on and off.
    Heeg explains that he doesn’t use the fan all the time. During heat waves when temperatures stay high overnight, the Heegs use air conditioning. But when temperatures drop at night, they turn the AC off, open their home’s windows and turn on the attic fan. It pulls cool air from the outside through the house and attic and out the roof vents. In the morning, they shut off the fan and close the windows to maintain the house’s cooler temperature.
    “The blower uses a lot less electricity than the air conditioner,” Heeg says.
    He got the idea when living in another home. They would open the lower floor windows and put a fan in an upstairs window facing outdoors so it pulled hot air out of the home.
    “It’s important to have enough roof vents to take out the hot air,” Heeg emphasizes. When he reshingled recently he installed a large, 14-in. diameter vent with a thermo-statically controlled fan that blows out excess heat when the attic reaches a certain temperature. He also has smaller roof vents. Good ventilation also lengthens the life of shingles, he notes.
    Use adequate wiring and mount the blower safely, Heeg says. He placed his on a board on the attic rafters. His blower had the motor within a squirrel cage fan, and he covered the end with screen to prevent insects from crawling through the ducting. Heeg also made a hinged door to cover the hole in the access door when the attic fan is not being used. He plans to make minor changes and add finishing touches to the door.
    While the setup works fine, Heeg notes that he only used one side of the blower fan. He may hook up another vent to the other side and install a ceiling vent.
    “That would be better as it would draw heat from two different parts of the house,” he says.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, David Heeg, 3300 N. Ruess Rd., Owosso, Mich. 48867 (ph 517 204-8606; ddheeg@tds.net).

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Attic Fan Reduces AC Use BUILDINGS Miscellaneous With an investment of a little labor parts on hand and about $15 David Heeg of Owosso Mich figured out a way to cut back on air conditioner use He built an attic fan from an old furnace blower and connected it with a collar to 5 ft of flexible 12-in ducting connected to another collar mounted on a wooden access door to the attic He used 12-ga electric wire on a 20-amp circuit with a light switch on the access door to turn the fan on and off Heeg explains that he doesn’t use the fan all the time During heat waves when temperatures stay high overnight the Heegs use air conditioning But when temperatures drop at night they turn the AC off open their home’s windows and turn on the attic fan It pulls cool air from the outside through the house and attic and out the roof vents In the morning they shut off the fan and close the windows to maintain the house’s cooler temperature “The blower uses a lot less electricity than the air conditioner ” Heeg says He got the idea when living in another home They would open the lower floor windows and put a fan in an upstairs window facing outdoors so it pulled hot air out of the home “It’s important to have enough roof vents to take out the hot air ” Heeg emphasizes When he reshingled recently he installed a large 14-in diameter vent with a thermo-statically controlled fan that blows out excess heat when the attic reaches a certain temperature He also has smaller roof vents Good ventilation also lengthens the life of shingles he notes Use adequate wiring and mount the blower safely Heeg says He placed his on a board on the attic rafters His blower had the motor within a squirrel cage fan and he covered the end with screen to prevent insects from crawling through the ducting Heeg also made a hinged door to cover the hole in the access door when the attic fan is not being used He plans to make minor changes and add finishing touches to the door While the setup works fine Heeg notes that he only used one side of the blower fan He may hook up another vent to the other side and install a ceiling vent “That would be better as it would draw heat from two different parts of the house ” he says Contact: FARM SHOW Followup David Heeg 3300 N Ruess Rd Owosso Mich 48867 ph 517 204-8606; ddheeg@tds net

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