Energy efficiency; it’s something every homeowner thinks about from time to time.
Every time your air conditioner turns on, air circulates throughout your home. You probably have spots in your home that are colder than others. Maybe it seems like some rooms just won’t cool down. Is it your equipment? Or is it your attic?
Very few homes in America are properly insulated. The older the house, the less likely it has enough insulation to seal your home properly. And the attic is the first place to look if you’re thinking of adding more. But it’s not just your insulation that helps keep your home properly conditioned; proper ventilation is important too.
Hot air rises. That’s why if you’ve ever opened the door to your attic on the hottest day of the year, heat pours down from above. If your home isn’t properly ventilated, the hot air sits in the attic. And your air conditioner works harder to compensate for the heat transfer that leaks back into the rooms of your home.
This means more work for your air conditioner. It means more power needed to keep your home cool.
It also means it might be time to think about installing an attic fan.
Attic fans work by exhausting hot air and pulling in fresh air to replace it. Additional vents are placed in your attic to allow more fresh air in. Since the fresh air being pulled in can be ten degrees cooler or more, your home remains cooler for longer periods of time. That means your air conditioning equipment doesn’t have to work as hard during the hottest days of the year.
Attic fans also have an added bonus that can help your Atlanta home stay safer. As attic fans draw in fresh air, they also pull in moisture and dry it out. Before biological growth has a chance to settle into your attic’s surroundings, an attic fan works to exhaust air back out of the house. This can help buildup in moisture-prone areas.
Because an attic fan draws large amounts of air and circulates it in and out of your home, it also picks up dust and transfers that back outside as well. That means you’re less likely to see fine dust settle into your home while your attic fan is in use. A cleaner home in the summer months means more play time for you.
Is your home as efficient as possible? If not, now may be the time to install a ceiling fan and cool things down.