One of my least favorite things to do is climb up into the attic during the summer months. Historically, if it's 80 degrees outside, the attic is easily double that. I've always had an attic fan that I've never been convinced did anything other than suck up electricity and cost me more with Com Ed. Also, I believe there are monsters that live in the attic.But today, I was forced to climb into the attic in search of one of my bins of summer clothes because I needed a cute outfit for a party tonight and couldn't find a skirt I wanted. Prepared for a lack of breathable air and monsters, I hesitatingly climbed the ladder. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that it was relatively cool in the attic, despite it being over 80 and very sunny outside! The attic was so comfortable that I could have easily stayed up there and gone through old boxes of crap. I didn't, but I could have.
What's the difference you ask? Well, two weeks ago when Dave was in town, he installed a Solar Attic Fan for me. He sells and installs only Sunrise Solar Attic Fans because they use the most advanced solar panels to collect and deliver power directly from the sun to the highly efficient 12-volt DC motor inside the power vent. A Solar Attic Fan, just as its name implies, relies on the sun for its power, not electricity, as it sucks the heat out of your attic. To be honest, I hadn't really thought about the difference with the new Solar Attic Fan, except that since he installed it, I haven't turned on the air conditioning once!
I love that with my new Solar Attic Fan, I'm helping the environment and living more greenly, but I REALLY love the impact on my wallet! PLUS, there's a 30% tax credit available this year when I do my income taxes! Yeah! AND Dave's business offers a 5 year warranty, which is 4 years longer than Michigan Building Code requires and other companies provide!
Want one for yourself? Call Dave. That's what his new business - Crystal Solarlighting Solutions - does. He can be reached at 231-651-0214. And yes, he'll do installations in the Chicago Area, as well as Northern Michigan.
Oh, I also didn't find any monsters in the attic. That doesn't mean that they're not there. Just that they were sleeping.
Just a little advertising for your bro, huh. Well that is a totally awesome idea and a great way to green-up the house. So good luck to him and I am glad you are so happy that it works so well for you.
ReplyDeleteI honestly didn't start out to advertise for Dave. I really truly do love the attic fan. And I had my doubts when he put it in. I wasn't so sure I'd be able to tell a difference, but I'm amazed at how much of a difference I experienced. In the end, though, if I can promote him at the same time, all the better. :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I had my house in Massachusetts, we had a whole house fan located in the attic. It was as big as a jet engine, I swear. But it was great. At night, about half an hour before bed, we would open all the windows downstairs and turn on the fan. It sucked all the hot air out of the house and cool evening air in from outside. Then you shut it off. And the whole house stayed cool all summer night long.
ReplyDeleteI would so love to do solar everything in my house, but I think that will be a long time coming :( unless I win the lotto!
I've never seen a whole house fan like you describe. I'm familar with attic fans (because I had an electric one), but believe me, it didn't come close to cooling down the entire house.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you GG, going 100% solar would be AWESOME! If I could cut the umbilical cord between myself and ComEd and Nicor, I would do it in a heartbeat!
In the meantime, I was really pleasantly surprised at the cost of the solar attic fan. It was much less expensive than I thought it would be (yes, I paid for it - he didn't give it to me :( ) Plus, with the 30% federal tax credit this year, I'm REALLY psyched.
Hmmm, the Solar Attic Fan is reasonably priced, too *ponders how soon she can win the lottery* sadly, getting the attic reinsulated is probably going to have to take priority this fall. When my roof was redone last fall, all the insulation started falling down..... not good - bad for heating and dirty gross as well.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right! Insulation is a good thing and very important!
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