Do Solar Attic Fans Work on Cloudy Days?
So you’re considering a solar attic fan for your home. You recognize the potential to save money and reduce your carbon footprint while keeping your attic cool and dry with a solar attic fan.
However, maybe during the summer you get lots of cloudy days or you simply don’t want a fan that won’t operate during the day when you want it to. When considering purchasing a solar attic fan, it’s normal to wonder if they’ll be able to operate when it’s cloudy outside. While this depends on a whole lot of factors, the simple answer is yes (or rather, it should work when it’s cloudy outside). And if a solar attic fan won’t operate in a lot of shade, there are some steps you can take to ensure it will.
How Solar Attic Fans Work
Attic fans pull in fresh outdoor air and exhaust trapped air in the attic. This reduces attic temperatures, eliminates humidity, and can prevent structural damage, rot, mold, mildew, and ice dams.
While attic fans can actually reduce your electricity bill by making your AC work even less to cool down the home due to the cooler attic, lots of people are going a step further with solar attic fans.
Solar attic fans feature a solar panel that uses sunlight to power itself, thereby using none of your pricey electricity to ventilate the attic. Not only does this save you money, but it’s greener and much easier to install because it requires no wiring.
Solar Attic Fan Performance on Cloudy Days
Because solar attic fans rely on sunlight for power, it’s natural to think they won’t operate on cloudy days. However, this isn’t always the case. Modern solar panels include sensitive photovoltaic cells that don’t require full sun to generate power. So unless you’ve got an older, low-quality solar attic fan, it should be able to operate in a bit of shade.
Another consideration is the power of your attic fan. If your attic fan consumes a lot of energy, while the partial sun may provide some energy, it may not be enough.
How to Get the Most Out of Your Solar Attic Fan
To get the most out of your solar attic fan, you need to place it in the sunniest spot on your roof. Don’t place it somewhere where a tree or another building provides shade or it may not get enough sunlight to operate all day long.
If you can’t find a great spot that makes sense relative to your attic, you can always connect your attic fan to a solar panel that is placed in a different area of your roof. To do this right, you’ll want to get the help of someone who is certified to install solar panels. This will allow you to install your attic fan and wire it to a solar panel that is placed in an ideal location for sunlight.