Has Anyone Used a Solar Gable Fan to Save on Cooling Costs?

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Has Anyone Used a Solar Gable Fan to Save on Cooling Costs?

Submitted by: Sharon 03/25/2009 4:03 PM

Hello there... I'm in Houston Texas and the temps get up around 100-110 degrees in the summer time. I just discovered that there is a Solar Gable Fan available for about $500.00. I am interested in this very much. Does anyone have any comments on this?

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Comments:

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I just saw a solar attic fan (that goes through your roof) at CostCo for about $300.00 if that's the type of fan you're referring to. We're considering one but haven't decided.

Posted by anonymous on May 01, 2009 8:48 AM

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I have just a regular attic fan for the upright part of the roof gable. I know when we use it (it does have a temp control off/on) the A/C does not come on as early, and the house is really comfortable. It was less than $100 several years ago, came from Lowe's. Hope your solar works as well. Sounds like good idea.

Posted by anonymous on May 05, 2009 4:48 AM

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I grew up in HOT HOT Houston and know what you mean about the heat. When I was growing up, we were lucky and had AC. One of my friends who house i stayed over at sometimes, well they did not have AC. They had a attic fan. You would be surprised that fan kept the house pretty cool in the summer time. At night we would have to use a couple of blankets it got so cold.

The downfall of attic fans, safety. You have to have the windows open for it to work therefore you have open windows. When I was a kid (I am 43) it was safe to have the windows open in Houston. I would not be willing to leave my windows open in Houston now though.

I now live in Upstate NY where you can leave your windows open, doors wide open and have a ton of cash laying out in the open and no one would dream of coming in and touching a thing.

But if you live in a place you feel secure in, attic fans are great. I am all for anything that helps send HL&P to the poor house. Although I dont think it is HLP anymore there.

Posted by donna on June 09, 2009 3:03 PM

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Can anyone tell me if small plug-in fans use more energy than they are worth. our 140 year old house is hot hot in the summer and ice-box freezer cold in the winter. I heard some small appliances like this can drain your budget?

Posted by mandy on June 12, 2009 8:07 AM

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I heard that you can set a big fan in your attic trap door. Have a filter on it. Turn it on to low RPM so there is no noise. Not only does it help cool the house, but it keeps the dust from coming in the house.

However, 1/3 of all dust is human cells. But, to cut down on 2/3 of the dust does not sound too bad to me especially at pollen time.

Posted by james77777 on June 12, 2009 2:16 PM

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There is a difference between an ATTIC Fan and a GABLE Fan. The Gable fan only moves air from and enclosed attic thus lowering the temperature in the attic which in turn saves the life of your roof and makes cooling the house easier. An Attic fan draws cool air from outside into the house and expells it thru the attic thus cooling the whole house and the attic. We have an attic fan but I am interested in the solar powered gable fan to reduce the heat in the attic when it is not possible to use the attic fan.

Posted by anonymous on June 18, 2009 3:21 AM

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last year i put a box fan in my upstairs bedroom window and opened windows downstairs, it pulled cool air through the house at night, worked great. This spring i bought a replacement fan and motor on ebay for an attic fan assembly(about $60) built a frame and housing to fit my attic door, works great and it was cheap.

Posted by patrickn on June 29, 2009 10:39 PM

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