Gable Vents vs. Solar Attic Fan: Which Works Better for Your Home?

A goal for any home should be to keep the room temperatures comfortable for everyone inside. Attic ventilation is key to doing so, usually through the use of gable vents and attic fans.

Proper ventilation not only keeps your home cozy whether the temperatures outside are hot or cold, but also prolongs the life of your roof. This can remove excess heat and help your HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system work more effectively, thus lowering your utility bills.

Let’s explore gable vents and solar attic fans, and discover why you may actually need both!

Gable Vents Explained

As mentioned, gable vents exist to ventilate your attic, helping to cool or heat your home, and extend the life of your roof. Without the necessary ventilation, your HVAC system will be less efficient, and allow for the transfer of attic temperatures to your living space.

On top of that, a lack of proper ventilation can also result in damage to your roof, including fungal decay, insulation saturation, and delamination. 

Solar Attic Fans

Durable panel resists damage from hail wind, and foreign objects

Attic fans have been around for years, and today’s solar attic fans offer an added measure efficiency in ventilating your attic space. Simple and effective, solar attic fans are powered by the sun, prevent moisture build up in your attic by regulating attic temperatures and so protecting your home and roof.

Solar attic fans are durable, eco-friendly, easy to install, and, in many cases, the solution to gable vent inadequacies. 

Gable Vents vs. Solar Attic Fans

In fact, gable vents should be in every home, but often they are non-existent or simply too small to provide adequate ventilation. If you feel your gable vents aren’t getting the attic ventilation job done properly.

Solar attic fans can work in conjunction with operational gable vents and provide a number of benefits for your home. In fact, adding attic ventilation in the form a quality solar attic fan offers these benefits, especially for those living in warmer climates, like Florida:

1.Keep Your Attic Cool 

If you live in a warm climate, like Florida, heat can build up in your attic and radiate to the living areas below, forcing your air conditioning unit to work harder and costing you money. With the addition of a solar attic fan, attic temperature is regulated, and damage to your insulation, roof, and the structural integrity of your home can be avoided, not to mention the lower utility bills. 

2.Lower Attic Moisture 

In warm climates and in summer, heat and humidity can mean moisture in the attic which encourages the growth of fungus and molds which can damage your home’s roof structure. Solar attic fans, along with functional gable vents keep moisture build up in check.

3.Adopt Eco-Friendliness and Energy Consciousness

Solar attic fans, powered by the sun, need no electricity, thus making them environmentally friendly and making you energy conscious. Using a renewable energy source, the sun, means not only is your carbon footprint reduced, but you also save money. 

4.Maintenance Free and a Solid Investment

Solar attic fans push air out of your attic, accessing the sun’s energy when you need it, on the sunniest days. Plus, these fans are maintenance-free and a solid investment designed to make your home more comfortable, preserve the structural integrity of your home and save you money.

5.Protect Items Stored in Your Attic

For most homeowners, the attic is prime storage space. By keeping temperature regulated, not only do you protect your roof from damage but all the treasured items stored in your attic as well.   

6.Make Your Home More Comfortable and Save Money

If your home has functional gable vents, they still might not be getting the job of attic ventilation done properly. For effective attic ventilation, solar attic fans can help keep your attic properly ventilated year round, while helping to cool your home and reduce your energy costs.