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    attic and fans....

    Ok so step one for my attic was get the temp of it.. I have 2 attics due to the layout of the house...

    now
    i couldnt get a cat5 into the attic from the basement for the 1 wire temps..
    but the oregon thc-138 sensors were too easy to put in...
    now the delema is those temps are good to 140F... they have already got so hot that they give a Communication Link Failure and are down for a day or 2... but then they are fine again...
    this is telling me it is time to go with attic fans..

    so... what do you use?
    automated or not?

    I thought of going with the solar attic fans.... but lookin they are about $300-$500... now that is expensive but no electricity is needed and I dont know how I could have HS report status.....

    so the standard ac attic fans are about $50-$75 and you wire them in.... so with that you could put a 2 way appliance module in and have it report on and off......

    so im curious what yall are doing ..... also I was thinking of 1 side fan on what im guessing is called the gable? but you have the louvered spot on each side of the house.... can use 1 fan to push out.. which would draw in on the other side..... and also still use 1 attic roof fan......


    sooooooo what to do?????
    HW - i5 4570T @2.9ghz runs @11w | 8gb ram | 128gb ssd OS - Win10 x64

    HS - HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.435

    Plugins - BLRF 2.0.94.0 | Concord 4 3.1.13.10 | HSBuddy 3.9.605.5 | HSTouch Server 3.0.0.68 | RFXCOM 30.0.0.36 | X10 3.0.0.36 | Z-Wave 3.0.1.190

    Hardware - EdgePort/4 DB9 Serial | RFXCOM 433MHz USB Transceiver | Superbus 2000 for Concord 4 | TI103 X-10 Interface | WGL Designs W800 RF | Z-Net Z-Wave Interface

    #2
    Electric attic fans work fine and there's no reason to automate them. They come with a thermostat and work just fine with no automation. The whirlybird fans work good as well and require little to no maintenance.
    💁‍♂️ Support & Customer Service 🙋‍♂️ Sales Questions 🛒 Shop HomeSeer Products

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      #3
      I agree they dont need to be automated.. would be nice to just see it on the hs quickview page....


      I added a fan in my old house.... and the built in thermostat was set to 90 degrees.... it never shut off... I changed the temp to 110 and it would shut off now and then....

      right now it is not that hot out these days and if im tippin 130-140+F now!!!! Imagin when it is 100+ outside!!!!!!
      HW - i5 4570T @2.9ghz runs @11w | 8gb ram | 128gb ssd OS - Win10 x64

      HS - HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.435

      Plugins - BLRF 2.0.94.0 | Concord 4 3.1.13.10 | HSBuddy 3.9.605.5 | HSTouch Server 3.0.0.68 | RFXCOM 30.0.0.36 | X10 3.0.0.36 | Z-Wave 3.0.1.190

      Hardware - EdgePort/4 DB9 Serial | RFXCOM 433MHz USB Transceiver | Superbus 2000 for Concord 4 | TI103 X-10 Interface | WGL Designs W800 RF | Z-Net Z-Wave Interface

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        #4
        I did the attic fan expansion in my attic last summer. I use 2 solar fans that are not automated beyond if the sun is shining they are on. I have two others that run off 12v fed by the solar panels on the roof. These are controlled by HS based on temp. These I do monitor weather they are on or off. I also have one other gable fan, the old style 110v electric fan. that's also controlled by HS according to Temp. I set that one higher than the rest and it really doesn't come on much but it has on really hot days. It's also a good backup if the other solar fans suck my batteries dry.
        Marty
        ------
        XPpro SP3 /w HS Standard 2.5.0.80, HSTouch Server - 1.0.0.70, HSTouch Client 1.0.0.73 HSTouch Android - 1.0.0.2, HSTouch iPhone - 1.0.0.2
        Playing with HS3 a bit but it's just play at this point.

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          #5
          Yeah - I am in Southwest MS and it typically is 130+ in my attic. I dont have powered fans, but have 4 'whirlybird' fans that are wind powered. I doubt they move much air at all.
          HS4Pro on a Raspberry Pi4
          54 Z-Wave Nodes / 21 Zigbee Devices / 108 Events / 767 Devices
          Plugins: Z-Wave / Zigbee Plus / EasyTrigger / AK Weather / OMNI

          HSTouch Clients: 1 Android

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            #6
            Originally posted by nightwalker View Post
            I did the attic fan expansion in my attic last summer. I use 2 solar fans that are not automated beyond if the sun is shining they are on. I have two others that run off 12v fed by the solar panels on the roof. These are controlled by HS based on temp. These I do monitor weather they are on or off. I also have one other gable fan, the old style 110v electric fan. that's also controlled by HS according to Temp. I set that one higher than the rest and it really doesn't come on much but it has on really hot days. It's also a good backup if the other solar fans suck my batteries dry.
            What solar fans do you have? I saw a 'this old house' episode where they installed some that moved a monstrous amount of air. My house is positioned where I could replace 2 of my whirlybirds and could make a big difference.
            HS4Pro on a Raspberry Pi4
            54 Z-Wave Nodes / 21 Zigbee Devices / 108 Events / 767 Devices
            Plugins: Z-Wave / Zigbee Plus / EasyTrigger / AK Weather / OMNI

            HSTouch Clients: 1 Android

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              #7
              Originally posted by rmasonjr View Post
              What solar fans do you have? I saw a 'this old house' episode where they installed some that moved a monstrous amount of air. My house is positioned where I could replace 2 of my whirlybirds and could make a big difference.
              The two straight solar fans are these or darn cloese to these http://www.rewci.com/sopoatfanfrs.html the other 2 are standard attic roof vent fans I converted to 12V by replacing the motors.

              I know there are some very powerful solar fans out this year, one or two would probably more than do a fairly large attic but like anything else the bigger they get the more expensive they get.
              Marty
              ------
              XPpro SP3 /w HS Standard 2.5.0.80, HSTouch Server - 1.0.0.70, HSTouch Client 1.0.0.73 HSTouch Android - 1.0.0.2, HSTouch iPhone - 1.0.0.2
              Playing with HS3 a bit but it's just play at this point.

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                #8
                I have a single attic fan. I have it controlled by Homeseer for the following reasons:
                1. The design of the house is such that the garage attic space is connected to the rest of the house. Therefore when the garage door is open the fan pulls air in from the open garage area rather than through the eave and gable vents. THerefore Homeseer shuts off the attic fan when the garage door is open.
                2. The location of the attic fan is cooler than the main part of the attic where I have a temperature sensor. Therefore Homeseer turns off the fan when the temp of the main attic drops to 100.
                3. At bedtime we want the attic fan OFF because of the noise; Homeseer turns it off regardless of the temperature.
                4. In the wintertime, we want the attic to get as warm as possible. This is free solar heating for the upstairs. It is amazing how much gas we save on sunny days. Therefore Homeseer does not turn on the attic fan in winter.
                5. Because the attic fan also provides ventilation to my garage area. I manually turn on the fan when I am working with paint or other smelly solvents.
                6. Although I have not yet implemented it, I would like the fan to shut off when it is raining. I don't think it is a good idea to pull moisture into the attic.
                Just allowing the fan to cycle ON/OFF based on the temperature at the fan location provides very limited control of the attic fan.

                Steve Q
                HomeSeer Version: HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.368, Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 - Home, Number of Devices: 373, Number of Events: 666, Enabled Plug-Ins
                2.0.83.0: BLRF, 2.0.10.0: BLUSBUIRT, 3.0.0.75: HSTouch Server, 3.0.0.58: mcsXap, 3.0.0.11: NetCAM, 3.0.0.36: X10, 3.0.1.25: Z-Wave,Alexa,HomeKit

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                  #9
                  I happened to come across this pdf on powered attic vents. Take it for what it's worth.

                  http://www.dom.com/customer/efficien...entilation.pdf
                  Marty
                  ------
                  XPpro SP3 /w HS Standard 2.5.0.80, HSTouch Server - 1.0.0.70, HSTouch Client 1.0.0.73 HSTouch Android - 1.0.0.2, HSTouch iPhone - 1.0.0.2
                  Playing with HS3 a bit but it's just play at this point.

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                    #10
                    My 5 attic fans are set to 120 F. They come on at around 9:30 AM - 10 AM and go off at dark every day. They tend to last about 2 -3 years and then the motors burn out. All new roofs being installed get the roof vents installed along the top ridges and whirlybirds. No one in our area are putting electric vents back in due to power consumption.
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                      #11
                      Electric attic fans tend to burn out pretty quickly due to the very condition they are designed to correct -- extremely high temperatures in the attic. Non powered whirlybird vents work very well if they are installed at the highest part of the attic (where the hottest air is). Someone said they don't move much air. Actually they do move quite a bit. If they are spinning, they are moving air (the hot air going through them is what spins them). If they are spinning really fast, they are moving a lot of air.

                      Equally important to proper exhaust ventilation is adequate intake ventilation. This is usually accomplished with soffet vents. If your house doesn't have plenty of soffet vents, it's very easy to install more. If you have several whirlybird vents exhausting hot air, and plenty of soffet vents to let the (relatively) cool air in, your attic should stay adequately cool.

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