Have you noticed the upstairs of your home feeling warmer than usual? Particularly near the attic opening? Be sure to check that your attic fan is working. If not, be sure to replace an attic fan to help cool your attic and home.
I don’t know about you guys, but for VA this summer has been HOT! We even had a few weeks where the heat index was above 110. It was ridiculous! So you can bet we had our AC cranking this summer (and a doubled electric bill to prove it).
Typically, we like to keep it on 73-74. We have one unit for our house and it’s always a little warmer upstairs. We started to notice that our bedroom was warmer than usual, especially when our closet door was open.
The entrance to our small attic is on the ceiling in the master bedroom closet. My husband decided to crawl up there and make sure all the vents were open, etc. What he discovered was that on a 105-degree day our attic was in the 140s! Our attic fan was no longer working and a hotter attic = a hotter upstairs.
What is an Attic Fan?
The attic fan basically circulates the air in the attic to keep it from getting too hot. Technically, an attic is only supposed to be 10-15 degrees warmer than the outside temperature, not 40 degrees warmer.
We ordered a new attic fan and installed it this weekend.
My husband got the lucky job of going into the attic to replace an attic fan. We had to turn off the power to replace the fan. To be on the safe side we turned off the power to the entire house. Then my husband got to work unscrewing and removing the old fan.
I tried to get him to write a post about what he did. He said no. So I asked him how exactly he removed the old fan and installed the new one. “You just unscrew the old one and screw the new one in.” Genius! That tutorial will be so helpful.
A neat feature that our new fan has is that we can set it to when the fan runs and when it doesn’t. Ours is set to turn on when the attic reaches 100 degrees. It usually doesn’t run in the evenings, nights and mornings. We like this because the fan is right above our bed. We can hear it if the house is quiet.
I hate sleeping in a hot place. We have our AC set to 66 degrees, because 1. the AC does not work right half of the time and 2. we don’t pay for electric. That is one serious fan though, glad it was a simple fix.
Ugh. The heat here is ridiculous. The heat wave “broke” last night, it’s only supposed to be 98° today. Our master bedroom is in the attic, and it gets HOT up there. We have a window unit to supplement our central air.
Well i have a rather dangerous tip to stay cool.
take the cover off your fan and it blows wayyyy better :] !
found out when my fan fell and the cover came off,lol.
Im in Long Island NY and we have had some wicked hot and humid days with a few gorgeous days thrown in. The weather here has been very random the last 10years. We never know what we are going to get. stay cool!!!!!!
We’ve had an outrageously hot summer too. Our upstairs is disgusting, because the attic floor is insulated so all of the heat just sits in the upstairs hall. Blech.
We have a window AC unit running pretty much 24/7 in our bedroom because otherwise I’d come home to a dead dog!
The heat here is insane too! We’ve been reaching the low 100’s aswell.
So.Un.Comfortable.
I think Joe and I were in Richmond when it was above 110 🙂
Yay for replacing the attic fan! We have fans in each of our rooms and it is such a life saver. They really helps us keep our electric bills down!
Dude. Kansas has been absolutely brutal. 108 was the high this week, and that was actual temp, no index. I can’t beat it, so I just avoid it – and make D do all the hot, sweaty, man work. 😉
It’s been so hot here I have been avoiding going outside as much as possible. I kinda dread the day when Noah gets old enough to play outside, in the middle of the day and I have to watch her… and suffer. I love Summer more than Winter but I’m kinda a wimp when it comes to temps of either extreme.
I’m glad you guys got something to help you beat the heat! It’s been in the 90s here, not too bad. I’m ready for cool nights and a bonfire 🙂
It’s been extremely hot here in Ontario too. The humidex has reached 47 a few times which is about 117 fahrenheit- it’s hot!! Definitely have had to have the AC on most of the summer. Ceiling fans have come in handy too! And swimming at my parents is also helpful- Man I want a pool!
Glad that the attic fan seemed like an easy fix (even if it was hot and uncomfortable to change!)- hopefully that helps you sleep easier!
I am so tired of the heat! All the flowers are looking so sad 🙁 It has been over 100 degrees for more days than I can count. I am glad he made it through his adventures 🙂
blessings,
karianne
Oh, it’s been so hot here too! I hate opening that ComEd bill this summer …
And best tutorial ever!
🙂
Linda
Took the words right outta my mouth girl! Ed just told me yesterday our electric bill has doubled from cranking the AC. It’s HOT. Great job on replacing the fan!! I’d be too scared to tackle that project. Also I couldn’t get Ed to write a post if I tried *sigh* oh well 🙂
shower, food and a nap … that combo always makes me happy 🙂
Thats my husbands routine after work every day ;]
We have a one story house BUT we have vaulted ceilings in our great room and master bedroom. Our bedroom gets so fah-reaking hot in the summer because there’s ONE vent for the entire room. And I don’t know about you, but I like to sleep in a cold room with a down comforter. So we kick it ghetto style and put a small window air conditioner in during the summer months. We only turn it on at night, but it makes a world of difference.
Now, back to the topic of attic fans. We desperately need to install one or two this fall. It gets way too hot up in our attic.
Our electricity bill is out of control! Thankfully we have two thermostats, so we set upstairs to 72 and downstairs to 75. It seems to work ok, but I am pretty sure our attic needs ventilation. Great job replacing the fan! It’s on our list also…maybe next year!
love the title of this post. It’s nice to have an attic fan that goes on when it reaches a certain temp. Good job! 🙂
~Lisha