Reduce Heat and Dust With
Attic Exhaust Fans
When the sun bakes your house, the hot air rises from floor to floor until it reaches the attic, where it will build up unless you have an attic exhaust fan to draw the hot air out and bring in cooler air from the outside. Especially if the attic is where you store your family heirlooms, a good exhaust fan will not only keep your attic from becoming an oven on hot days but will also protect it from humidity and moisture, mildew and dust.
 One option we appreciate is being able to add a thermostat that will automatically turn on the fan when the area reaches a pre-set temperature. Typically you will want the fan to come on at somewhere between 90 and 130 degrees Fahrenheit. This will save you money on electricity. There are some thermostats that will kick in at as low a temperature as 60 degrees.
We have shopped online for gable mounted attic exhaust fans and found a 15-inch, 1,300 CFM fan selling new for as low as $78.88. You can get an Emerson Light-Duty, Venturi-Mounted, Direct-Drive Exhaust Fan - Model 2VLD1221 for $99 plus delivery.
One word of caution, though. Be careful buying hardware for your home online and not at a retail store. We heard of one consumer who purchased a gable attic ventilator for close to $100 thinking it was sturdy metal construction, only to find when he unpacked the box that it was a cheap plastic fan that was already broken. He ended up having to buy an all-metal Dayton fan from Grainger.
The basic kind of attic exhaust fan runs on ordinary household electricity, and most often has to be wired during installation by someone who has at least a basic knowledge of carpentry and wiring. An alternative is to put in a self-contained solar powered unit that gets its energy from the sun instead of having to be connected to your alternating current.
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