Whole house fans need windows and doors open and attic fans need lots of soffit vents to suck.
How to tell if attic fan is working.
An attic fan is installed on the slanted side of your roof or on one of the gable sides of your attic.
Reconnect all the pieces of the attic fan and turn the device on again.
If the shop light turns on the thermostat is working.
Attic fans work on the principle of pushing out the attic s hot air and replacing it with cool air from outside.
Attic ventilation fans whether hard wired or powered by their own solar panels seem like a low cost and effective way to help keep your house cool.
However the utility of attic ventilation fans is actually quite a controversial topic.
The downside of attic ventilation fans.
Whole house fans work on the principle of removing the hot and humid air out of the house.
Moreover if you have asphalt shingles on the roof attic.
If the attic fan isn t turning on it could be an electrical issue a problem with the thermostat or the motor of the fan that s not working.
Good insulation reduces fan effectiveness.
Electrical issue your attic fan may not be turning on because of an electrical problem like a tripped circuit breaker a blown fuse or a bad connection.
How an attic fan works.
Attic fans exhaust hot air from your attic to the outside.
These fans are designed to remove excess heat from your attic which in theory is supposed to lessen the load on the air conditioning in your home.
To avoid rotting wood clumping insulation and mold your attic needs to be properly ventilated.
How to check attic ventilation.
If not the thermostat may need to be replaced.
One static vent style is the turbine vent which uses wind to power its enclosed fan all it takes is a light breeze to rotate the blades and suck heat out of the attic view example on the home.
For both fans to work well they need large exhaust openings in the roof for the moving air to exit.
There are several different types of attic ventilation systems but most of them feature small vents soffit and gable which draw in cool air along with a primary fan that pushes air outside.
The warm air escapes through the attic and to the attic vents allowing the circulation of chilly air from the windows.
Set the thermostat to turn on mode and plug a hand held shop light into it.