Your roofing system is one of the most expensive parts of your home. Not only does it cost a ton of money to install and replace, but it also plays a key role in insulating your home. The better insulated your home is, the less you’ll have to spend month-to-month on energy costs. However, attic insulation isn’t enough—you also need adequate attic ventilation to keep your roofing system in great shape and your energy bills as low as possible. Without ventilation, your home would be not only stale and stuffy, but could also be susceptible to mold and mildew growth due to higher moisture levels. If you’re concerned about your current attic ventilation, consider hiring an attic ventilation contractor who specializes in solar attic fans in Kansas City, MO.
Koala Insulation is a Kansas City insulation company that specializes in everything from blown-in insulation to air sealing. We’re also able to provide our customers with solar attic fan installation. After paying for upfront costs, solar power fans cost nothing to use and can increase your attic air flow more than traditional vent types can. But what exactly are solar attic fans? And more importantly, are they right for you and your home?
What Are Solar Attic Fans?
As their name suggests, solar-powered attic fans are a type of fan that uses solar energy to power ventilation in your attic. There are two types of ventilation systems that may be installed as part of your roofing system in Kansas City: exhaust vents and intake vents.
Exhaust vents expel hot air from your attic, while intake vents suck in cooler air, which then forces the hotter air out. Solar attic fans expel heat from the attic, making them a popular type of exhaust vent. Other common types of vents include:
- Soffit Vents: Your soffits are the horizontal paneling that extends from the side of your home to the fascia boards. If you stand directly under the overhang of your roof and look up, you’ll see your soffits. Soffit vents may be continuous (i.e., soffits covered in small holes) or have individual vents spaced intermittently apart.
- Over Fascia Vents: Used to supplement ventilation in roofs where your overhang isn’t great enough to allow for soffit vents, or other complex roofing systems, fascia vents provide a small opening between your roof’s edge and gutters.
- Drip Edge Vents: These vents are similar to fascia vents in that they are used to supplement ventilation in roofing systems that cannot take advantage of soffit vents.
- Gable Vents: Generally no longer used, you may see a gable vent on the side of gables in older homes.
- Ridge Vents: These exhaust vents run along your roof’s peak, all the way from one end to the other.
- Box Vents: To provide adequate ventilation, multiple small box vents must be installed across your roof.
- Cupola Vents: These provide the same benefits as several box vents, but make a stunning architectural impact. If you want your attic ventilation system to draw attention for the right reasons, the premium price you’ll pay for these may be worth it.
- Roof Turbines: Also fondly known as ‘whirlybirds,’ these aluminum vents require wind to produce ventilation.
- Attic Power Fans: Like solar attic fans, power fans are a more active type of ventilation than the types discussed above. Unlike solar fans, power fans use electricity as their power source.
Solar fan models can be split into two main categories that differ primarily based on their installation location: gable-mounted solar attic fans and roof-mounted solar attic fans. Roof-mounted models are installed directly inside of your roof. If positioned on the south-side of your roof, the solar panel will be able to absorb the greatest amount of energy possible.
Generally less expensive, gable-mounted models are installed within the gable, or wall, of your attic. Deciding which model is right for you will depend on the positioning of your home, as well as your unique needs. All that being said, why should you consider solar attic fans in Kansas City, MO over these other types of vent systems?
Benefits of Having a Solar Attic Fan in Kansas City, MO
Improves Ventilation
Arguably the greatest benefit of installing solar attic fans in Kansas City, MO, these greatly improve your attic ventilation. Attic ventilation is crucial for several reasons:
- Extends your roof’s lifespan: Depending on your roofing material, your roof may last anywhere from 10 to 50 years, with rubber shingles requiring replacement the earliest, and concrete, metal, and cedar shakes lasting the longest. This wide range depends not just on the material used, but also on how well you look after your roofing system. Because hot air rises, your attic can become warm and stuffy not just in the summer, but during winter days as well. This air carries a high moisture content, and if left unchecked, can cause mildew and mold to grow, subsequently reducing the lifespan of your trusses and shingles. Solar fans actively push out most, if not all moisture in your attic, keeping it nice and dry.
- Keeps your house cool and comfortable: When excess heat builds up in your attic, your whole home will feel warmer. Proper ventilation keeps your attic cool. To combat heat buildup and reduce how often you need to turn on your air conditioning, a solar fan is a great choice. By regulating your attic temperature, it can lower your overall home temperature by up to 10°F, which may be just enough to prevent your air conditioning from kicking in.
As an active system, solar fans stand out from other types of vents. The powered fan encourages greater airflow and movement than non-active exhaust vents can provide.
Prevents Ice Damming
An improperly ventilated attic can cause a damaging process called ‘ice damming’ to occur on your Kansas City roof. Ice damming occurs when snow falls onto an unevenly heated roof. Because hot air rises, the peak of your roof tends to be warmer than the part of the roof closer to the overhang. This can cause snow at the top to melt and refreeze when it reaches the edge of the roof. Over time, this newly frozen ice can create a dam that prevents melting snow from flowing off the edge of your roof and into your gutter system. Pooling water can cause major water damage to your roof.
Using solar attic fans during Kansas City’s winter months can help decrease the temperature difference between the outside air and the attic air. In other words, a cooler attic will be less likely to cause snow to melt upon contact. It will also create a more even temperature throughout your entire attic, preventing ice damming from occurring.
Improves Energy Efficiency
As previously discussed, many exhaust and intake vents in Kansas City homes are passive roof vents, meaning they do not require a power source to operate. To work, these systems take advantage of and rely on the natural movement of hot and cold air. While this makes them incredibly energy efficient, they can only provide so much ventilation.
Active fan systems, such as solar fans and attic power fans, are capable of producing greater airflow than passive vents. However, attic power vents use electric power. These systems therefore increase your energy consumption—and your energy bill.
In contrast, Kansas City solar attic fans will not increase your energy usage. Though they have an upfront cost like all other vents, they won’t negatively impact your monthly energy bills after installation, or your carbon footprint. With more sunny days in Kansas City than the United States average, you shouldn’t have any trouble powering your solar attic fans.
Drawbacks of Having a Solar Attic Fan in Kansas City, MO
Insignificant Cost Savings
Solar attic fans are often promoted as providing significant cost savings through the reduction of your heating and electric bills. You may have also heard that, although these are one of the more expensive vent systems to purchase and install, they pay for themselves through the amount of money you’ll save on your utility bills.
While this may be the case for some homeowners in Kansas City, strictly speaking, this isn’t necessarily true. Depending on the purchase price of the product you choose, the initial cost for installation may be significant. Plus, depending on the square footage of your home, you may need to purchase and install two or three units.
Because energy costs are always changing, so are the potential savings. In the long run, you likely will end up paying off the upfront cost in energy savings, but if immediate energy savings are your motivation for investing in solar attic fans in Kansas City, MO, you may be disappointed by the results.
Increased Air Conditioning Costs
While there have been many reports that Kansas City solar attic fans improve comfort, particularly in the summer months, there have also been national reports that these fans lead to additional air conditioning costs. The higher the solar panel wattage, the more intense the fan speed, and the greater the air flow.
If you have an air conditioning system and use it frequently in the summer, you need to ensure that your attic insulation is up to snuff. If not, your high wattage solar fans could just be pulling all that cold air up through tiny holes and cracks in the ceiling and into the attic. This can cause air conditioners to run more often, and subsequently use more energy to keep your home cool. For this ventilation system to work properly, you’d need to fill in those cracks and improve your overall insulation levels.
What to Consider When Thinking About Getting a Solar Attic Fan in Kansas City, MO
When researching the pros and cons of installing solar attic fans in Kansas City, MO, you’re likely to find a lot of conflicting information. While some feel strongly that solar fans are a waste of money, others claim that they have a lot of value. Who, then, is right?
The answer is not one that people who see the world as black and white like to hear, but it’s the right answer to this quandary nonetheless—it depends. If the cons have you concerned, think about these counter arguments:
- Immediate cost savings are not always the goal. If you’re looking for high return on investment projects, installing solar attic fans in Kansas City, MO may not be one of them. However, if you don’t have a central air conditioning system in your home already and want to get maximum ventilation while being conscious of the environment, this vent system could be exactly what you’re looking for.
- Depending on how you currently use your air conditioning system, solar fans can either increase or decrease your air conditioning usage. If you like to keep your home extremely cool in the summer—we’re talking 70°F and below—your new fan could certainly pull cool air up from the bottom of your home and into your attic, requiring your air conditioner to kick in more often. However, if you let the solar fan do its thing before turning the air conditioning on, it may very well cool your home enough that you don’t feel the need to run your AC in the first place.
- No exhaust or intake vent will work optimally without proper attic insulation. If your attic is properly sealed and insulated, you won’t even have to worry about cool air produced by your AC unit being sucked up into the attic. The first step in decreasing your energy consumption and lowering your energy bill is to ensure your attic, walls, and crawl spaces are optimally insulated.
For Solar Attic Fans in Kansas City, MO, Choose Koala Insulation of South Kansas City
Do you think solar attic fan installation may be right for your home and ventilation goals? At Koala Insulation of Kansas City, we specialize in the installation of solar attic fans in Kansas City, MO, homes.
Not sure which service is right for you? No problem! Simply give us a call at 816-929-8255, and we’ll be happy to discuss your questions and concerns with you. Alternatively, you can fill out an online estimate request form, and we’ll contact you to set up an appointment for an in-person evaluation.