Having a tough time finding a reliable installer in Mercer County.  Got a new roof put on a year ago.  Company told me the old fan was no longer needed now that he was putting in ridge vents.  That was a mistake, as the vents are no match for the heat up there.

 

Some local guys I tried to reach tendnot to respond.  I guess the job is too small.  I am looking for a reasonable price for someone to handle it, ans I am hesitant to hire anyone who doesn't know absolutely what they are doing, as cutting a hole in a brand new roof is not something I take lightly.

 

Anyone suggest a person?  Or what to look for in a new unit in general?  The old one was there when we bought over 20 years ago and was a power hog.  I would assume there are better ones out these days, but the stock at the Depot looks like abomb hit it back in the dregs of the roof aisle.

2 minutes ago, AlDente67 said:

Having a tough time finding a reliable installer in Mercer County.  Got a new roof put on a year ago.  Company told me the old fan was no longer needed now that he was putting in ridge vents.  That was a mistake, as the vents are no match for the heat up there.

 

Some local guys I tried to reach tendnot to respond.  I guess the job is too small.  I am looking for a reasonable price for someone to handle it, ans I am hesitant to hire anyone who doesn't know absolutely what they are doing, as cutting a hole in a brand new roof is not something I take lightly.

 

Anyone suggest a person?  Or what to look for in a new unit in general?  The old one was there when we bought over 20 years ago and was a power hog.  I would assume there are better ones out these days, but the stock at the Depot looks like abomb hit it back in the dregs of the roof aisle.

I put in a solar unit with aux power supply. Dropped the attic 20-30 degrees. Purchased from depot or Lowe’s 

How much to come on over? 

Amazon has it $400 made by Remington 

Just now, AlDente67 said:

How much to come on over? 

2 stories or 1?

That part is on top of 2...split level...

Sign up for nextdoor.com and seek recommendations from neighbors.

Pm sent

35 minutes ago, Zeke said:

I put in a solar unit with aux power supply. Dropped the attic 20-30 degrees. Purchased from depot or Lowe’s 

+1 for the solar units 

Get one with a humidistat as well as a thermostat.

...and put it somewhere you can get to.  I just replaced the motor on the one in my attic....

 

Install a light too, it's dark and scary up there.

What about a fan out the side wall gable vents. You won’t have to tear up your roof. It will also keep the squirrels out.  Or increase the attic floor insulation.  The houses in Florida don’t have attic fans, and the houses are very energy efficient. 

10 hours ago, AlDente67 said:

I am looking for a reasonable price for someone to handle it, ans I am hesitant to hire anyone who doesn't know absolutely what they are doing, as cutting a hole in a brand new roof is not something I take lightly.

 

44 minutes ago, SW9racer said:

What about a fan out the side wall gable vents. You won’t have to tear up your roof.

I would consider the gable vent fan. No hole in roof, low cost and easy to install and repair.

If you have ridge and soffit vets, putting in an attic fan may royally screw up your airflow.

9 minutes ago, Handyman said:

If you have ridge and soffit vets, putting in an attic fan may royally screw up your airflow.

How so?

9 hours ago, Sniper said:

 

I would consider the gable vent fan. No hole in roof, low cost and easy to install and repair.

I installed a gable vent fan myself about 15 years ago.  Has worked well ever since. Has a thermostat that i have set to 125 if i recall correctly. Runs all day (e.g. noon until early evening) on really hot days. Had an electrician run the electric to it from an existing circuit in the attic.

This thread reminded me to go up and turn on the power to it. Going to really heat up tomorrow.

If you have gable vents I’d put in 2 1 push and 1 pull. Kinda hard to do on my hip roof

2 hours ago, Handyman said:

If you have ridge and soffit vets, putting in an attic fan may royally screw up your airflow.

It really wouldn't matter, the goal is to get the hot air out. A fan would force it out much better then that passive system.

 

1 hour ago, Zeke said:

If you have gable vents I’d put in 2 1 push and 1 pull. Kinda hard to do on my hip roof

I wouldn't recommend that. Specially if they are thermostat controlled. It could potentially pressurize the attic. Better option to go with the gable fan is to cut in some additional soffit vents, this way cooler air is pulled from bottom and hot is exhausted out the top.

23 minutes ago, Sniper said:

It really wouldn't matter, the goal is to get the hot air out. A fan would force it out much better then that passive system.

 

I wouldn't recommend that. Specially if they are thermostat controlled. It could potentially pressurize the attic. Better option to go with the gable fan is to cut in some additional soffit vents, this way cooler air is pulled from bottom and hot is exhausted out the top.

Ya probably blow the shingles right off the roof.....

but if you don’t you could implode the roof. 

Gimme a break guy

I always install gable fans that way they can not leak, runs about $400 for the install.

We have ridge vents and perforated soffits, plus some sort of hard foam piece that creates a channel for inlet air between the fiberglass batts and the underside of the roof sheathing. I assumed this is pretty common.  So only passive and I can tell you its hot as *#@&#@ in our attic in the summer. Has to be 120 or 130 degrees up there in the summer.  We also have dark brown roofing shingles.

Had a place with an attic fan way back when, and it was way cooler.  Maybe 105 or so.

After reading this thread I’ve notice some gable fans.  But as stated above somewhere, there has to be an adequate source of inlet air.  Like an engine I guess.  You can put a nice, low back pressure exhaust on, but if you air intake doesn’t change to match the flow, it probably won’t work as intended.  If the gable vents are the primary inlets and you put an exhaust fan there, it probably ain’t right.  Like a carpet shower.... or finger dip.

9 hours ago, Kevin125 said:

We have ridge vents and perforated soffits, plus some sort of hard foam piece that creates a channel for inlet air between the fiberglass batts and the underside of the roof sheathing. I assumed this is pretty common.  So only passive and I can tell you its hot as *#@&#@ in our attic in the summer. Has to be 120 or 130 degrees up there in the summer.  We also have dark brown roofing shingles.

Had a place with an attic fan way back when, and it was way cooler.  Maybe 105 or so.

After reading this thread I’ve notice some gable fans.  But as stated above somewhere, there has to be an adequate source of inlet air.  Like an engine I guess.  You can put a nice, low back pressure exhaust on, but if you air intake doesn’t change to match the flow, it probably won’t work as intended.  If the gable vents are the primary inlets and you put an exhaust fan there, it probably ain’t right.  Like a carpet shower.... or finger dip.

Gable vents are usually on each end. With the fan on one you pull air cool air in from the far end and exhaust thru the opposite end. They will lower the attic temp About 20 degrees on average.

7 minutes ago, Redlines said:

With the fan on one you pull air cool air in from the far end and exhaust thru the opposite end.

So, why wouldn't you want one on a end gable Pulling air in from the outside instead of exhausting it out?

Because you would create positive pressure in the attic and will force hot air into places like the interior of the house. When you vent out you create negative pressure that will only pull cool air into the house.

On 5/25/2019 at 9:04 AM, Zeke said:

How so?

I dunno. I was having a roof redone and asked about having ridge vents and a fan installed and he told me never do that. I figured he must have been legit because he would have made more money doing both.

 

11 hours ago, Kevin125 said:

if you air intake doesn’t change to match the flow, it probably won’t work as intended. 

If it isn't balanced and cant draw outside air, it might suck air-conditioned air out of your house.

I have yet to know of someone in my neighborhood that has an attic fan. 

9 hours ago, Redlines said:

Because you would create positive pressure in the attic and will force hot air into places like the interior of the house. When you vent out you create negative pressure that will only pull cool air into the house.

Thank you, exactly right.

Someone else in this thread doesn't understand how positive pressure in an attic can affect the rest of the house. When you vent out, cooler air gets pulled from the soffits and vents out though the gable. This follows normal natural convection patterns with hot/cold air.

19 minutes ago, Sniper said:

Thank you, exactly right.

Someone else in this thread doesn't understand how positive pressure in an attic can affect the rest of the house. When you vent out, cooler air gets pulled from the soffits and vents out though the gable. This follows normal natural convection patterns with hot/cold air.

Winner winner.