Has anyone installed a garage attic fan?

[tallhair]

I'm going to have my roof replaced soon along with some other work and I'm thinking of installing one of these to keep the garage and attic cooler.

Premise is it sucks hot air out of the garage and fresh air in through vents installed in the garage door and forces the hot air in the attic out of the ridge, soffit, etc vents. Benefit is supposed to be the attic is cooler which helps keep the garage cool and sucks hot air out of the garage and sucks in cooler outside air, and provides ventilation and moving air. Supposedly costs < $20 a year to operate and cools the garage by 20 degrees, and attic by 30 or 40 degrees.

The house/garage is 10 years old. Both have plastered drywall finished walls with insulation in the walls and ceiling. When it's below freezing outside it's comfortable for a short time in the garage with light jacket or sweater in the winter time .. so winter is not really a problem. However it faces West and is hot as hell in the summer time even when we keep the door down in the afternoon when the sun is blazing straight at it and I don't pull the cars in after driving them home after work etc. The garage is attached to the house and has a full ridge vent and metal ventilated soffit vents and a decorative but functional vent on the top front face that's about 1 1/2 ft in diameter. It also has an insulated garage door. I'm not trying to get it down to 70 but i'd like to have it at around 85 or below with some air movement when it's 95+ outside. At present it's at least as not in the garage as it is outside if not hotter.

I'm hoping someone has done this or knows something about if it will work or not.


Thoughts? Opinions?

http://www.coolmygarage.com/shop/gf-14-garage-ventilation-fan-attic-cooler/#!prettyPhoto

VIDEO HERE .. forward to 2:40 minutes .. the other thing may be worthwhile too or just snake oil :shruggy:

[video=youtube_share;SzOmlw3LD8Y]http://youtu.be/SzOmlw3LD8Y?t=2m28s[/video]

 

[Zymurgy]

Seems like a good idea. I know on my shop the best thing I have done is insulate the crap out of it. I have 5 1/2in in the walls and 8 inches in ceiling. Today it was 90 outside 78 inside and won't get much warmer. In the winter time it never drops below 35 even if it is 0 outside. I also have a dehumidifier so it never feel damp or humid.

 

[tallhair]

Thanks .. to add some background the garage has finished walls with insulation in the walls and ceiling and even when it's below freezing outside it's comfortable in the winter time. However if faces West and is hot as hell in the summer time even when we keep the door down in the afternoon when the sun is blazing straight at it and I don't pull the cars in after driving them.

 

[Stormer]

Moving air is good. Adding any type of humidity to the attic is bad but that's not usually a factor in a garage.

You have to be a little careful that powered vents don't inadvertently disrupt the natural flow of air in other parts of the attic.

 

[1978 NYB]

Moving air is good. Adding any type of humidity to the attic is bad but that's not usually a factor in a garage.

You have to be a little careful that powered vents don't inadvertently disrupt the natural flow of air in other parts of the attic.

What recommendation do you have on an attic vent for a townhouse? It's always hot as hell on the 3rd floor with 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths.......comfortable on the 1st and 2nd floors.

 

[Stormer]

What recommendation do you have on a vent for a townhouse? It's always hot as hell on the 3rd floor with 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths.......comfortable on the 1st and 2nd floors.

You can't mix roof mounted power vents with any other type of roof vent, it has to be one or the other.

Good balanced attic ventilation + R30 attic is about all you can do. Good insulated windows make a big difference too.

 

[tallhair]

Is your roof a dark color?

 

[1978 NYB]

Is your roof a dark color?

Yes.........dark brown

 

[detmatt]

You only got ten years out of the roof?????

pop a hole in the wall and put in a room air conditioner.

 

[tallhair]

Moving air is good. Adding any type of humidity to the attic is bad but that's not usually a factor in a garage.

You have to be a little careful that powered vents don't inadvertently disrupt the natural flow of air in other parts of the attic.

Ross, this attic fan is supposed to force hot air out of the attic through the vents. The house and attached garage has ridge vents and soffit vents. There is also one vent on the top front of the garage. Do you think the extra vent on the front of the garage is messing with the flow of the air out of the attic?

 

[tallhair]

You only got ten years out of the roof?????

pop a hole in the wall and put in a room air conditioner.

It's getting replaced due to hail damage Matt. I can't justify an A/C. I'm hoping by getting the hot air moving out of the attic it will quit over heating the garage. The company claims this unit is supposed to lower garage temp by up to 20 degrees. If it lowers it 15 I would be happy.

 

[detmatt]

You certainly wouldn't hurt anything by running something like that during the summer months and I'm sure it'd kool it down some.

 

[Fratzog]

Soffit vents are traditionally an air intake. It sounds like this system will reverse the air flow by converting them to an exhaust? I agree with the note above about not combining the 2 systems. One or the other.

 

[tallhair]

Soffit vents are traditionally an air intake. It sounds like this system will reverse the air flow by converting them to an exhaust? I agree with the note above about not combining the 2 systems. One or the other.

Thanks Fred you are correct they are an air intake. I don't know but I wouldn't think the air would be trying to get out of the soffit vents since they are low and the fan would be blowing air up. I would think the air would go up and out the ridge vent and maybe the gable vent on the front of the garage but I'm waiting to see what Ross has to say to my question to him above.

 

[1978 NYB]

I had my house built in 1996, I wish I knew about dual zone central air systems back then. I currently have an in-room air conditioner in the master bedroom that vents to the window.

 

[Stormer]

Bryan, I'm sure that adding that powered intake vent in the garage will be fine. Just keep in mind that air follows the path of least resistance and you want to pull air IN through your soffits & let it OUT through your ridge vent. Reversing that in anyway is bad.

Make sure that your ridge vent has an external baffle too.

 

[Red63440]

Soffit vents are traditionally an air intake. It sounds like this system will reverse the air flow by converting them to an exhaust? I agree with the note above about not combining the 2 systems. One or the other.

The exhaust is the fan, it pulls air from the garage, the only difference is adding inlets to the garage door which would split the intake between the soffit and door vents.

 

[commando1]

A properly sized cupola will outperform any exhaust fan and without electricity or maintenance. Plus the esthetics are way nicer.

 

[1978 NYB]

A properly sized cupola will outperform any exhaust fan and without electricity or maintenance. Plus the esthetics are way nicer.

My HOA will approve if the cupola has a ring mount and 50 cal HB on it. LOL!!!

 

[tallhair]

Bryan, I'm sure that adding that powered intake vent in the garage will be fine. Just keep in mind that air follows the path of least resistance and you want to pull air IN through your soffits & let it OUT through your ridge vent. Reversing that in anyway is bad.

Make sure that your ridge vent has an external baffle too.

I have been doing a lot of reading this morning on attic venting .. speaking of ridge vents and baffles what brand of ridge vents do you use? And do you concur with this test / sales pitch?

I want to make sure my roofer uses the best product if there is an actual best product.

[video=youtube_share;z-rVV05pMdo]http://youtu.be/z-rVV05pMdo[/video]