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Community and Q&A

Power rooftop fan update

Texnnotex | Posted in General Questions on

May, 2019

I live in North Central Texas.  I recently had a new roof installed.  On the advice of the roofing company project manager I had 2 roof top power vents installed.  The thermostat is located on the fan, way up on the interior of the roof.  The roofer set the thermostat to 90 degrees.

I read the article posted on GB, and wondered if there have been any improvements in the technology?

Since I don’t have access to the thermostat to the fans, I have been shutting them off by shutting off the breaker, which means no electricity to 1 room until sunset.

Should I have the roofer set the thermostats to a higher temperature or simply disconnect the fan?

Thank you

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Replies

  1. Peter Yost | | #1

    Hi Tex -

    I am not sure which GBA resource(s) you have read, but the real problem with powered roof vents (even those really energy efficient solar-powered ones) is their tendency to pull interior air as well as exterior air, unless there is a perfect air barrier.

    Here is a pretty recent GBA article on power roof vents: https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/article/the-top-two-reasons-powered-attic-ventilators-are-a-waste-of-money.

    Peter

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