If the upper levels of your home are unbearably warmer than the lower levels during the summer, there's a problem somewhere. There is no reason that you should have to deal with the temperature difference. Here, you will learn a little about attic fans and how they could impact your comfort level upstairs in your home.

Install an Attic Fan

Attic fans are used to pull the hot air that is trapped in your attic out of your home. When the attic heats up, the heat will carry into the upper levels of the home and make it very hard to maintain a comfortable temperature even with a good air conditioning unit.

How do attic fans work?

Attic fans are installed just inside the gable vent up in your attic. The gable vent is positioned at one end of the house close to the peak of the roof. This fan doesn't run non-stop, instead, it is wired to a thermostat that kicks the fan on when the attic reaches a temperature set by your HVAC technician. Then, the fan runs until the temperature in the space has fallen below the set temperature.

So, while the fan pulls the overheated air out of the attic, the fan pulls cooler air in from within your home and other vents in the attic. This helps to cool the attic and pull the cool air from the lower level of your home into the upper levels.

Can you install an attic fan on your own?

Something like this can be done on your own, but it is best to leave it to your local professional HVAC technician. Since the fan will likely need a 220 volt connection, it is in your best interest to foot the bill for a professional installation. Working with electricity puts you and your home at risk.

If your home isn't too large, you may be able to get away with a fan that only requires a 110 volt connection which will decrease the risk, but it is still not something that you want to mess around with if you aren't skilled with electrical work.

You don't have to deal with those extreme temperature changes within your home. Talk with your local HVAC technician to learn more about properly ventilating your attic space to keep the upper levels of your home from becoming overheated during the upcoming long, hot summer.

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