AC and attic insulation

[DuaeGuttae]

Yeah soffit and ridge venting would be ideal, but not how this house was built...and it would be a major project to change now...the attic fan is not ideal, but at 195 watts, the fan draws less than 1/3 the power of the air conditioner, and I think it will in fact reduce how much the AC needs to run, as the difference in a sunny day and a cloudy day on how the upstairs room feels is huge. The house is pretty well air sealed as far as to the attic is concerned...just not insulated well...that is in the process of being fixed though. Even once the insulation issue is fixed I think the fan may still run some, just because of the less than ideal gable vents that the house has...I'll probably just set the thermostat on 120* and let it do its thing at that point. I have it wired to run on temp, or timer.

I understand. Our house was built with the air conditioning/heating and water heaters in the attic spaces. It drives me up the wall from an energy efficiency perspective, but it’s how things were done. We’ve made improvements in other areas in the house, but we can’t relocate the units. Attics sure do get hot down here.

I’m sorry if I sounded like I was criticizing your particular installation. I hadn’t meant to be addressing you in particular, but I just thought it might be valuable to add a bit more detailed information to the thread because of others who may read it.

 

[Highbeam]

It works even better if you seal up gable vents.

That's my problem now. The gable vents are relics of the past and they are acting to defeat some of that lovely soffit to ridge air flow you speak of. It's hard to remove them and keep it looking nice and I actually like the light in the attic space. Maybe I can attach a sheet of plexiglass to the inside from the attic!

 

[semipro]

That's my problem now. The gable vents are relics of the past and they are acting to defeat some of that lovely soffit to ridge air flow you speak of. It's hard to remove them and keep it looking nice and I actually like the light in the attic space. Maybe I can attach a sheet of plexiglass to the inside from the attic!

I placed clear poly sheet on the inside of gable vents on a former house. I can't say I noticed a difference but I wasn't really monitoring things, just following best practices.

 

[johneh]

I look at it a little different the more ventilation the better.
But then I live in a cold country 9 months of the year and
hate ice dams