Had the attic fan put in last week - we had the gable-mount kind, which did not require a roofer or contractor to create an opening on the roof.
However, since our attic only had one gable vent, our contractor created a second opening (across from the existing gable vent) to create a second gable vent. This is where he installed the attic fan. In addition to the attic fan being temperature controlled (i.e., it turns on/off when the temperature reaches a certain temperature), the contractor also installed an on/off switch in our hallway so that we could manually turn the attic fan off (e.g., at night when we did not want to hear the fan, since the fan is located adjacent to our bedroom).
My observations:
(1) you can hear the attic fan but only when you're upstairs, and only in the areas adjacent to the fan. Also, the noise is more of a white noise and is hardly noticeable, when the fan is running. I personally am not bothered by it and could probably sleep through it, but the wife would prefer that it be turned off when we go to bed.
(2) prior to the attic fan, the upstairs would get 2-4 degrees warmer than downstairs. With the attic fan, the difference in temperature is about 0-2 degrees, depending on the time of day. It doesn't sound like a huge difference, but my impression is that we are not running the A/C quite as much as before. Perhaps this is a placebo effect in play, but I will confirm through my electricity bill next month.
However, since our attic only had one gable vent, our contractor created a second opening (across from the existing gable vent) to create a second gable vent. This is where he installed the attic fan. In addition to the attic fan being temperature controlled (i.e., it turns on/off when the temperature reaches a certain temperature), the contractor also installed an on/off switch in our hallway so that we could manually turn the attic fan off (e.g., at night when we did not want to hear the fan, since the fan is located adjacent to our bedroom).
My observations:
(1) you can hear the attic fan but only when you're upstairs, and only in the areas adjacent to the fan. Also, the noise is more of a white noise and is hardly noticeable, when the fan is running. I personally am not bothered by it and could probably sleep through it, but the wife would prefer that it be turned off when we go to bed.
(2) prior to the attic fan, the upstairs would get 2-4 degrees warmer than downstairs. With the attic fan, the difference in temperature is about 0-2 degrees, depending on the time of day. It doesn't sound like a huge difference, but my impression is that we are not running the A/C quite as much as before. Perhaps this is a placebo effect in play, but I will confirm through my electricity bill next month.
