Solar Vent

Is it Hot, or is it Just Me?

A Solar Vent breathes a breath of fresh air quietly throughout the house while solving 'attic ailments' that can turn into 'whole house ailments' when ignored. Solar attic vents make your living space more suitable for... living.

Get rid of that cloud of hot air that hovers in the attic with a little natural ventilation.

If you've determined that your house is a candidate for a solar attic fan, the sooner you get started, the sooner you'll start to cash in on the savings and the sheer comfort of living in a well ventilated home.

Attic fans really don't get as much attention as they should, especially Solar attic vents, maybe because they aren't as sexy as - say, a shiny new sports car.

The thing is that the sports car will never stop costing you money and a solar vent will never stop saving you money. I know! BIG DIFFERENCE.

Do we have a favorite? I'm glad you asked.

We are exposed to a LOT of different products in our research and we like to refer to you any products that we find to be outstanding in workmanship, functionality and value for money paid. As far as solar attic vents are concerned our hands-down recommendation is the

It's obvious that 'Natural Light' feels pretty confident in their product by the 25 year limited warranty on the entire unit.

They've gone the distance in turning out a solid product that does what they say it'll do. The leakproof housing is crafted of seamless aircraft grade aluminum. All of the hardware you need is provided.

and because it's solar powered... there's more!

• Quiet functioning - The solar attic fan operates so quietly that some owners have crawled into the attic to see if the fan is on.
• No emissions - Clean, green, natural energy powers the solar attic fan without burning a single ember.
• Easy installation - This is an easy DIY project for anyone who has a few handyman skills. You DO have to cut a hole in the roof (which gets the heart pumping a bit) unless you are replacing an existing vent that is ideally situated on the southern aspect of your roof.
• No Wiring required - That means that the solar vent is not hardwired into the home's infrastructure. It also means that the attic fan will continue to work in a power outage.
• Reduces Mid-day Energy Load - Air conditioning is responsible for a huge chunk of your energy cost. A solar vent greatly reduces the load that air conditioning requires during the hottest part of the day. The money you save on air conditioning costs will pay for the solar vent in 2 to 5 years.
• No Cost Energy Source - Free, free, free energy. Did I mention that the energy is FREE? In areas where sunlight is abundant you'll benefit financially from a solar powered attic fan.

Being a solar energy product there are ways in which it functions differently. When you understand the differences it's easy to make the adjustments necessary to get the very best out of any solar device.

Not only will the fan operate only as long as the sun is shining on it BUT the speed of the fan will vary according to how much sunlight strikes the panel.

Installing a Natural Light Solar Vent

Hire an expert if you like but in 30 minutes YOU can install the Natural Light 20-watt Solar Attic Fan and have an immediate, positive impact on your cooling and heating expense with a minimum of handyperson experience.

Natural Light vents come complete with a vent, fan, and solar panel that can be attached to the roof very easily with no more than a few screws. You can replace existing vents with a solar version in minutes if they're oriented in the right direction.

Installation tips for the Natural Light Solar Vent

• Detach the fan and solar panel assembly and install just the aluminum body then attach the fan and panel. It's easier to install the fan without the panel to begin and add the panel to the finished product.


• Turn the unit off before installing, otherwise the fan will start working as soon as the sun hits the panel.


• To get the best angle for year round use - situate the panel at noon on a winter day so that the sun shines directly on the face of the panel. The panel's shadow should be minimal and fall DIRECTLY behind it. Usually equal to your latitude plus 15 degrees.
  
  The best angle for summer use only is equal to your latitude minus 15 degrees.

Thermostat for the Solar Power Attic Fan

Do you need the thermostat? Only if you want to have control over when the fan runs. The thermostat will be programmed to turn the vent on and off depending on the temperature up there.

In climates where the temperature regularly dips below 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 Celsius) the thermostat will save you a lot of scrambling around to turn the fan on and off.

The thermostat will tell the solar fan to turn off when the attic temperature is cool enough (~80F), otherwise the fan will function whenever the sun shines on the panel unless you climb up there and do something about it.

In hot climates you will likely always want the fan functioning so no thermostat is necessary. In climates with cold winters you'll be glad that you got the thermostat.

Visitors to our Solar Vent page may also be interested in the following pages for more information.