Exactly. Also, add-on fans can disrupt the normal "eves-to-ridge" thermosiphon that's supposed to ventilate the attic.
> -----Original Message----- > From: Mercedes [mailto:mercedes-boun...@okiebenz.com] On Behalf Of Dan > Penoff via Mercedes > Sent: Saturday, July 20, 2019 9:08 PM > To: Okie Benz <mercedes@okiebenz.com> > Cc: Dan Penoff <d...@penoff.com> > Subject: Re: [MBZ] Test Message > > My former next door neighbor is a “forensic HVAC investigator”. In other > words, he works for insurance companies, identifying the part HVAC systems > play in losses their insureds encounter. I had been talking to him about > putting > a solar powered attic fan in the house to get the attic temperatures down. He > told me that before I did anything like that I should seal the “envelope” as > tightly as I possibly could. > > Seems that people will go and put an attic fan in, thinking it will reduce the > heat load on the living space by making the attic cooler. In reality, what > often > happens (according to him) is that the attic fan creates a negative pressure > in > the attic, which sucks conditioned air out of the living space through all the > little racks and gaps that exist in every house. As a result, costs to > condition the > living space often go up after doing this, not down. > > So he cautioned me to seal up the house as best I could and then put an attic > fan in, as long as the attic is properly ventilated (which is already was.) > > -D > > > On Jul 20, 2019, at 9:00 PM, Rick Knoble via Mercedes > <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > > > > In my former house I went in the attic and caulked all the wall and > > wallboard > joints, sealed the light fixtures, and caulked all holes for wiring, etc. > Made a big > difference. The interior walls act like chimneys and pull air in from the > outside. > The results are amazing. > > > > > > Rick > > > > From: mercedes@okiebenz.com > > Sent: July 20, 2019 7:37 PM > > To: mercedes@okiebenz.com > > Reply-to: mercedes@okiebenz.com > > Cc: d...@penoff.com > > Subject: Re: [MBZ] Test Message > > > > Plenty of blow-in over the conditioned air space. I also went through the > house when we moved in and sealed every possible crack, joint or penetration > in the walls and ceilings. Had a blower door test done afterwards and the guy > said it was one of the tightest homes he had ever tested. Definitely cut a > good > 10%-15% on our cooling costs. > > > > There’s no cheaper gain in efficiency than to go around and seal up all the > openings in a house. Amazing how much conditioned air escapes around > things like light fixtures in the ceiling, for example. > > > > _______________________________________ > > http://www.okiebenz.com > > > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > > > > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
